Sticky Situations
by wavetail
Summary: Imagine that aliens never invaded. Everyone's just high school friends. Then the mysterious new girl, Wanderer, shows up. There's something very different about her. Especially her eyes... Oh forget this. I can't write summaries. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Host. **

**Wanderer's POV**

Okay. First day of school. Freshman year. First year of high school. No sweat. Right?

Wrong.

I was scurrying around my apartment in a mad haze, trying to organize my backpack while chugging down my morning glass of orange juice at the same time. What an awful way to start the first day of school.

Melanie sat on the tattered old couch in my apartment, nibbling on the edge of a bagel. I was immediately jealous, but I quickly diminished those negative feelings. But, oh, how nice it must be to not be incredible uptight about everything. Why couldn't I be more like Mel? Carefree and relaxed. I snorted to myself. Yeah, that will be the day, when Wanderer Evermore acts tranquil and stress-free. Like _that_ was ever going to happen.

So I continued muttering under my breath, listing off the things that I had packed away.

Tattered Notebooks? Check.

Chewed-up Pencils? Check.

Pens-With-Practically-No-Ink? Check.

Binder Paper? Check.

Dusty Book to read? Check.

ID card? Check.

Ancient Cell phone? Check.

Puke-Yellow Highlighter? ...

Highlighter?...

_Highlighter!..._

Where's my highlighter? I _swear_ that I put it on the counter top this morning. I had picked it up and walked into the kitchen... then what had I done with it? Where was the highlighter?

Now I was really starting to freak out. I gasped, hurrying from room to room, checking everywhere. It wasn't in my bedroom or the kitchen or the living room or even the bathroom. I _knew_ I should have shoplifted a two pack of highlighters instead of just finding an old one on the floor. But then there's the whole stealing thing... and I really didn't want to steal. Even living in a rundown apartment building on the streets of New York City, with barely any food, and a neighborhood with some of the highest crime rates throughout the city, I still had pretty high moral ethics.

By now I was starting to hyperventilate. What if one of my teachers actually used a highlighter for an assignment today? And we had to have one or else out grade would drop ten percent? That would knock me off of a perfect four-point-oh GPA. Ahh! And then I would have to go live with some awful foster parents because my adoptive agency only let me live alone as long as I didn't get in trouble and kept up my good grades... and... and... and...

I was really starting to feel dizzy at that point. Feeling all of the blood drain from my face I walked into my shabby little living room, and collapsed on the beat-up couch, right next to Mel.

Mel looked up from where she was sitting, took one look at my face, and shrieked. I must have looked horrible, because it takes _a lot_ for Mel to shriek like that.

She scooted closer to me and wrapped her free arm around my shoulders. In an alarmed voice she gasped, "Oh my god, are you okay, Wan? What happened?"

Somehow I managed to choke out the word "highlighter."

Mel just stared at my corpse colored face. Then she started cracking up.

"I fail to see what's funny about the situation," I snapped at her.

"Oh, Wan," Melanie laughed. "Uncle Jeb would never kick you out of school for not taking a highlighter. Now would you relax? I've got an extra one that you can borrow."

That's when I started gushing like the hormonal and uptight idiot I was. "Oh, thank you, Mel. I'll pay you back one day. I am forever in your debt. How can I make it up to you? Thank -" but then Melanie cut me off.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. We need to go now. Don't wanna be late on our first day of high school, do we? Uncle Jeb may not kick us out for not having a highlighter, but he _will_ give us detentions if we don't show up on time."

And on that happy note, Melanie shoved me out the door.

**Ian's POV**

High school. Uhg. Not my cup of tea, if you know what I mean.

Evangeline had to drag me out of bed this morning. My protests were only half-hearted due to the fact I felt like a zombie.

"Ian, it's your own fault for going to bed at three in the morning right before the first day of school," Ange said good naturedly as she shoved me my backpack. I was trying to persuade her (unsuccessfully) that we should go ahead and ditch the first day.

"You're the one who kept me up all last night with your snoring," I teased her. Evangeline snorted. We both knew that she doesn't snore.

"What were you doing last night anyway?" Ange inquired as we made our way out of our apartment building.

"Playing poker with Jodi. Kyle had passed out on the couch but she didn't look tired. I couldn't sleep anyway."

Ange punched me in the arm playfully. "You better not let Kyle find out you were spending quality time with _his_ girlfriend." She laughed, "He'll get so mad. And jealous. I love watching him when he gets jealous." I rolled my eyes, knowing that Ange was exaggerating. We made our way to the basement, where we kept our biking gear.

Taking our bikes, we arrived at our private high school a few minutes later. The great thing about the school that we go to is that, even though it's private, they don't make you wear uniforms. Also, there wasn't a lot of crime and vandalism at our school, which was in my personal opinion, nothing less than a miracle. I mean, this was New York City, people.

Evangeline and I slowly made our way to our first period classroom, stopping to chat and mingle on the way. The halls were filled with familiar faces, but there were hundreds of new ones too. I felt sort of small, and kind of lost. I looked over at Ange, and although her face betrayed nothing, I could tell she was feeling the exact same way.

Ange and I didn't like feeling insecure. We ruled the school back at our own Junior High. We were popular, smart, and we could kick anyone's butt at soccer. Everyone knew us. And Ange and I went out of our way to know everyone in our grade. Being in a giant new school full of unfamiliar faces made us feel... well... off? Weird? Uncomfortable? Something like that.

Soon the bell rang, signaling for kids to start rushing to their classrooms. But Ange and I hardly noticed. We were too busy caught up in a full blown (and rather heated) discussion on soccer strategy. We didn't realize that we were the last two people standing in the hall until we heard a familiar voice behind us.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't my favorite set of twins in the entire school."

Evangeline and I whirled around, finding ourselves face to face with none other than Jeb Stryder himself. He was smiling that cocky smile of his. Whenever he pulled it on his face you knew something bad was going to happen in one way or another.

"We're the _only_ set of twins in the entire school, Jeb," Evangeline said, grinning right back at him. Jeb laughed. He was a great principal. He let kids call him Jeb instead of Mr. Stryder. He never busted you unless you did something to really screw up.

"Uh hu... well get on to class before I change my mind and call the principal," he joked. He turned around and went looking for some other lost/wandering kids still in the hallway to annoy.

As soon as he left I said, "It's weird seeing Jeb at school."

"It's his _job_ to be the principal, Ian," Ange said, rolling her eyes.

"It's still creepy. It's like our parents personally hired him to watch our every move."

"Just 'cause we know Jeb outside of school, doesn't mean that our parents want him to stalk us," Ange countered.

"I'm sure they at least asked him to keep an eye on us."

"Well of course mom and dad want Jeb to look after us," Ange said. "They're both gone for like... five months and we only have Kyle who's barely turned eighteen. And let's face it, Kyle's not the ideal caretaker."

"Who says we need a babysitter?" I demanded. "We can take care of ourselves."

"Mom and dad don't," Ange said quietly.

That stopped me short.

We had arrived at our first period classroom, but we didn't walk inside. We just stood there.

When I spoke my voice was full of bitterness, "Maybe if our parents ever stayed home for longer than a week out of the whole year, they would know that we've actually _grow up_ in the past fourteen years."

Ange sighed. "What can we do? I know that their irresponsible parents, but they still love us..." she trailed off as if she wasn't sure of the last part of her sentence.

"Well, they love their jobs more," I muttered. With that we quickly composed our expressions and walked into the classroom just as the bell rang.

**Lunchtime (Ian's POV)**

"You suck," Jared grumbled to me as he tossed me my class schedule across the crowded lunch table.

"Hey," I shouted when I realized what he had thrown. "Who the heck gave you this?" I waved the paper to make my point.

Evangeline laughed.

"You..." I snarled at her.

"Oh... what are _you_ gonna do to _me?_" She countered.

"Kill you," I growled back.

She pulled on a fake expression of innocence. "You wouldn't hurt me... your own _sister?"_

"I wouldn't put it past me," I said before I returned to my lunch. I heard Lily's voice drifting across the table.

"What did the genius do now, Jared?"

"He got stupid honors biology," Jared muttered.

"Really," Lily turned to me, fascinated. "That's the hardest class to get into at this school. How do you do it, Ian?"

"It's called not having a life," Wes laughed.

All of my friends, including Ange, howled with laughter. I even chuckled a little bit.

"So, Ange, how does it feel to be upstaged in science by your _twin_ brother?" Heath asked. Everyone knew that Ange and I were science geeks. Evangeline, however, had not made the cut into the honors biology class. Only twenty kids out of the entire freshman class (about 578 kids) had been chosen for the course. I had barely made it in.

Evangeline didn't find Heath's comment so funny. "How about I ask you how it feels when I shove my fork up your-"

"Hey guys," Melanie said bounding up to the table, and (thankfully) cutting Ange off.

"It's actually a spork," I heard Heath mutter from the end of the table, apparently still thinking about Ange's comment. Sharon and Trudy cracked up.

Ange, slammed her lunch tray down. The whole cafeteria fell silent. She then got up, and walked over to the buffet. She chose a heavy pitcher of orange juice and walked back to our table. Evangeline climbed up onto the seat right next to Heath and said to the entire school, "Warning: don't mess with an O'Shea."

And with that she dumped the entire pitcher over Heath's head.

Our entire table applauded, followed by the entire cafeteria clapping, laughing and cheering for Evangeline. She stood and bowed before she sat back down. Heath was still coughing and spluttering, trying to get the orange pulp out of his eyes.

He looked over at Ange, with an pissed off face that would have been quite scary if it didn't look like he was sweating O.J.

"Oh, c'mon, Heath." Ange said once the noise had died down. "You've known me since kindergarten, and you know that I've always been like that. I'm not making an exception for you just 'cause you're one of my best friends. You should have know better."

Heath finally grinned and said, "Truce?"

"Truce," Evangeline agreed.

Heath got up, "Now excuse me while I go try to steal someone's spare pair of clothes."

He walked off, attracting a lot of stares from other tables.

Just then a new voice spoke up. A softer, calmer, more subdued voice, unlike the other shouts and noises that were echoing around the cafeteria. One I had never heard before. "Okay... now, Mel, _you're_ the one who gave me the whole speech this morning about how I needed to 'relax' and 'everything was going to be fine'. Well, you better come up with something fast, sis, before I transfer schools again because I honestly don't think that everything around here is _fine_."

The whole table turned and looked at the new voice. She was standing right next to Melanie.

"I'm sorry, sis," Melanie said to the strange girl before she turned to us. I couldn't get a clear look at new girl's face because she was facing Mel, and not us. She also had on one of those hooded sweatshirts, so actually I couldn't see any part of her at all. All I heard was the soft voice.

"You guys, this is my best friend, Wanderer Evermore. Wanderer is her first name, Evermore her last name. I know she has a strange name. It's a long story." Mel poked 'Wanderer' in the side and the girls laughed as if they shared a special secret.

"Anyway, Wanderer is transferring to this school for an entire year for personal reasons. We've been close ever since we were babies and when I found out she need a school to transfer to, I suggested this one. She'll be staying at my house the whole year, and I expect you people to _be nice to her!_" Melanie eyed Ange and me.

"What did we do?" Evangeline asked.

"Yeah, when did we get signaled out as the trouble makers?" I asked.

"Hmmm... lemme think about that for a sec," Mel said eyeing the drops of orange juice that had splattered across the table.

"I had nothing to do with that," I reminded Mel.

"I'm still watching you," Melanie said in a threatening voice, but I could see how hard she was trying not to laugh.

Everyone laughed a little bit too.

Mel turned to Wanderer and said, "Relax, sis. Sit down. I'm gonna get some lunch. Want anything?"

The newcomer shook her head, "I think I lost my appetite exactly five minutes ago."

"Yeah... sorry about that," Ange said.

The soft voice from under the sweatshirt laughed, "That's fine."

"Well then sit. I'll be right back," Melanie said. With that she walked off the buffet where they served the food and drinks.

The strange girl turned to our table and asked, "Mind if I join you?"

"Here," I said, and I scooted away from the edge of the table, making a spot for the new girl.

"Thanks," she said. She walked up to the table, pulled off her hood, unzipped her sweatshirt and sat down.

"Well at least the O.J. was the good quality kind, you know? The fresh squeezed kind. Not the tablespoon of flavoring and nine cups of water deal. That stuff is just plain _nasty,_" Wanderer said. She gave a little shudder for emphasis. Ange and a few others girls laughed.

But I had to stifle a shocked gasp. It wasn't because of her comment, far from it. I probably would have laughed too, if I wasn't side tracked by other glaring aspects.

Wanderer was wearing a t-shirt that said USA Soccer on it, which I was all for. I decided I already liked this new girl. The soccer t-shirt, her quirky sense of humor, and the soft, calm way which she spoke were great. A girl I could see myself one day becoming friends with.

But that still isn't what shocked me.

She was beautiful. Gorgeous. Stunning.

She had glossy ink black hair that fell down to her waist. It was so dark that there was a bluish tint to it. Her skin was as smooth and pale as porcelain. Her eyes were a stormy sea green. Bright and alive, full of mysteries and secrets.

In the ten minutes I've know her, I've gathered that she's calm and even tempered. She knows how to deal with a strange situation. After all, she transfers to a new school and one of the first thing she see's is my sister dumping orange juice over some guy's head. Not a good first impression of the new life she'll be having.

She was beyond attractive. There was not a word that existed that could sum up her beauty. She also had a calm personality, and a quirky sense of humor.

And. She. Loved. Soccer. That was obvious from her t-shirt, her sweatshirt which had a picture of Mia Hamm and a soccer ball on it, and a bracelet on her wrist that said, "Soccer 4 Life".

Aww crap.

I really was in trouble. I was also crazy. And insane. Off my rocker. This just _can't_ be happening.

I think I have a crush on Wanderer Evermore.

**I know this is confusing, but all will be explained in future chapters. You don't have to, but if your read my other fanfic for Host, it might make it clearer on why Evangeline exists, and why Wanderer looks the way she does. Yes, I admit it, Wanderer does have a weird last name. Don't kill me if you hate it. **

**Please review. Reviews are very encouraging and motivational, even the ones full of criticism. Review! :)**

**Host rocks my socks!**

**- Wavetail**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own HOST. **

**Thanks to flolice, ccreanoxo, BlueSkies13, alwaysreading25, SillyPizza, sapphirenight12, madasmonty, and jediahsokaroxx for the awesome reviews. I hope I didn't misspell anyone's name. **

**Wanderer's POV**

"Why did you tell them I was staying at your place?" I bombarded Melanie as soon as lunch was over and everyone was heading to their fifth period classes. It was so noisy in the halls, that no one could possibly hear what I was saying. Still, I spoke in a whisper.

Mel sighed. "Well I could hardly tell them that you were living alone in possibly the crappiest apartment known in this city."

"Besides, it's true. You are always welcome into my home. My parents adore you, and I think Jamie's had a crush on you ever since he was five. He never shuts up about you." Mel gave me a smile and poked me in the side. We did that a lot. I was kind of like our secret display of affection for each other. It told us "Hey. I love you in a sisterly kind of way. I may make fun of you and insult you, but don't take it personally."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah. You family does like me. I wonder how much they'll like me after I tell them I'm a _freakin' alien_."

"Relax, sis."

"Sorry."

"My family doesn't know anything about your inhuman qualities. Neither does the rest of the world. No one's going to find out," Melanie said soothingly.

"You found out," I murmured.

"On accident."

"What's to stop another 'accident' from occurring."

Melanie sighed again while I started to rant.

I spoke in a rush, "I should have never have let you talk me into moving to this school. Something's going to slip, I just know it. Someone will find out. Then I'll be done for. No, scratch that. _You'll_ be done for, Mel. The rest of _humanity_ will be done for."

I stopped walking and pushed Mel up against a section of lockers. When I spoke my voice was barely audible. "You've known my secret for years, but let's recap. I was sent hear by the souls to see if humans would be suitable hosts for my kind. I am one of two souls who walk the face of this earth as we speak.

The... soul government - let's just call it that for now - only wants souls to invade Earth if they think that humans don't deserve the lives that they've been given. We don't want to mercilessly take the lives of creatures if they have good hearts. I haven't spoken to my bosses for five years when my last report was. On June 21, after this school year ends, I will be making another report.

Do you want an honest answer from me, Mel? I think that humans are horrible creatures. You lie, cheat, steal, and the worst ones of you kill on a daily basis. But there is no freaking way that I'm going to say that to my bosses. I love you humans too much, I care about _you_ too much. But there is no solid proof to back humans up that you deserve to live.

So I'm going to have to lie, which we both know I suck at. But I will get by, and everything will be fine. The only thing that will _not _be fine if the souls find out that you know the truth about me. Then it won't matter. Souls will invade no matter what. They do _not_ want humans to know about us. So what I really need from you right now, Mel, is for you to _start helping me hide my identity_."

Melanie just stared at me. Finally she spoke, "Was there something in that orange juice you drank this morning? You're acting more paranoid than usual."

I felt so distressed I actually felt hot spots form behind my eyes. I tried to blink my tears away as I said, "Please listen to me, Mel. I don't want to lose you. I... I... _can't_ lose you."

"Oh, sis," Melanie said when she saw how upset I was. She took my hand and squeezed it gently. "No one is _ever_ going to find out. I only know because we've know each other since we were babies. Well... _I_ was the little kid and you were pretending to be one."

That made me smile weakly. Mel laughed at my expression. "There you go. Just relax. You have those contacts that cover up what you eyes really look like. And, if it makes you feel better, no one will believe you even if you screamed that you were an alien over the intercom. Us humans never believe anything unless we see living proof of it with our own eyes - and even then most of us don't believe what we're seeing."

I took a deep, shaky breath. "Thank you, Melanie."

She smiled at me. "We're sisters. We have to stick together, you and me. I'll promise to help you in whatever way you need, as long as you try not to take over the planet."

She poked me in the side (again). I laughed and poked her in the side. We erupted into a fit of snorts and giggles before we went our separate ways.

I raced to my fifth period class. I was the last kid in the hall. I ran into the classroom just as the bell rang. I mentally beat myself over the head. I shouldn't have cut it so close like that.

Every seat in the class was occupied except for one way in the back. I raced to sit down in it before the teacher started the lecture.

Dr. Ricks - that was the science teacher's name - just gave me a look before he started to take attendance.

"Oh great. It's you. Joy," a voice muttered across from the table that I as sitting at. I looked up and saw a boy - the same boy who's sister had dumped the orange juice over that kid's head - with shaggy, jet black hair, pale skin, and fiery blue eyes (if there was such a color) who was looking right at _me_.

**Ian's POV**

After lunch, I took my time making my way to my next class. It was my honors biology class with Dr. Ricks. I wasn't really looking forward to it.

I walked into the class, and I thought I was the last kid. Being early for something was never my specialty. There were two empty seats at the last lab table in the classroom. I took one of those.

I sat down, and prepared myself for a nightmare of a period. I had heard hell-like stories about this course. Dr. Ricks showed _no_ mercy. Zip. The very name causes the school's average student to whimper and tremble in fear. I laughed to myself.

Bring. It. On.

Evangeline and I have this... disease. We don't know if it's really a disorder or not... so we invented our own name for it. We called it CPI (Competitive to the Point of Insanity). Yup... we have _serious_ issues when it comes to competition. We love it. We live on it. We don't take losing very well either.

Don't ever challenge us to something, because we will not sleep until we prove that we can do it. Seriously. One time Kyle was just musing aloud that he didn't think that anyone would be able to build a laptop that surpassed a recent Apple model. Ange and I disagreed. He then said that maybe there _was_ a better laptop out there but _we _certainly couldn't build it. That really pushed us over the edge. Ange and I were launched into this crazy obsession over proving to Kyle that we could built a laptop as well as an high speed Apple edition. For seven days, we didn't go to school, we didn't eat, we didn't talk to anyone. We didn't even sleep for a _whole week._ Thank god for coffee. I don't know how we would have survived otherwise.

We did end up building two _fantastic_ portable laptops with high speed, better memory, better hard drives, and they were way smaller than anything Apple had ever come up with. After we built our laptops, we started getting really into technology. I never knew how cool it was to be a tech geek. Ever need to hack a computer or security system? Easy. We'll show you how.

I pulled out my mini laptop and set it up behind one of my folders that I was 'taking notes from'. I actually planned to IM Ange the entire time. Dr. Ricks may be intense, but he doesn't care what any of his kids do during class. He just stands there and lectures. Peering over my folder, I already saw two guys start throwing paper planes at each other.

I sighed. It was going to be a long period.

The bell rang then, and Dr. Ricks got up to take attendance, but then one last guy burst into the room, panting and out of breath.

I rolled my eyes behind my folder. I wasn't an early bird but I don't show up like _that._

I decided to at least say hi to the late guy seeing as we would have to be lab partners for the rest of the year. When, I looked up, my voice caught in my throat.

It was Wanderer. I swear she looked even more gorgeous than she did ten minutes ago when I last saw her. She ran to the back of the classroom and slid gracefully into her seat (right across from me by the way), offering Dr. Ricks an apologetic smile.

Dammit.

This was perfect. Just great. Fantastic. This class really was going to be living hell. I'm going to be stuck with the most beautiful girl in the entire school as my lab partner. There is _no way_ I'm going to be able to concentrate now with _her_ sitting across from me. Not that I was concentrating very much in the first place...

I didn't mean to say it, but next thing I knew, my big fat mouth muttered the words, "Oh great. It's you. Joy."

Her head snapped up, and her stormy green eyes stared into mine, shocked. She looked over her shoulder slightly, as if she wasn't sure that it was her I was referring to.

I chuckled darkly, "Yes, I'm talking to you."

Her eyes flashed, but she didn't look mad. Odd. I would have been pissed if someone said something like that to my face. "Is there something I said?"

I just shook my head, "No, it's not you... personally."

She arched an eyebrow. "Then...?"

I sighed, deciding to the truth. "How the heck am is supposed to concentrate when I've got _gorgeous _girl who also likes soccer sitting across from me the whole year. There's is no freaking way I'll be able to get anything done because I'll probably be staring at the soccer ball on you bracelet the whole period, day dreaming about fields, and shinny black and white circular objects."

She looked a little shocked at what I had said. Truth be told, I'm surprised I said it too. But then she smiled at me... and my stupidity was soooooo worth it.

"I'm terribly sorry to inconvenience you."

"I'll try to survive."

She laughed. This is what it must feel like to hear angels singing. "So, it sounds like you've been diagnosed - just like me - with a serious case of soccer-phobia. "

I grinned. "Bingo."

"The world cup just ended. I literally cried after the ref blew the whistle. I can't believe that the cup only comes on once every four years."

"Life sucks, doesn't it?"

"Mmmm... sometimes it does." A curtain of dark, silky hair fell into her eyes. She flipped it over her shoulder in an absent minded kind of way. "But at least Spain won."

Uh oh. "Whoa whoa whoa... Spain is _horrible_."

She snorted, "Then why did they win? Wait... don't tell me, you're a _Netherlands_ fan. Uhg."

"What have you got against the Netherlands?" I asked sharply, although I could barely keep the smile off of my face.

She too was trying not to grin, "They have _no_ skills in the offensive area. You saw the final match. Spain had the ball on the Netherlands's side the entire time."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"No."

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes!"

"NO!"

"NO!"

"YES!... Wait... I mean _no_," I quickly said.

Wanderer started cracking up. I couldn't help from grinning either.

"I'm Ian... Ian O'Shea," I finally said.

"Wanderer Evermore," she replied giving be a dazzling, and genuine, smile. "Don't even ask about the name. It's a long story. I might tell you some other time if you ever feel like being bored to tears." I laughed.

We ended up talking to each other for the entire period, totally ignoring what Dr. Ricks was saying. I got to know more about her - what she thought of New York City, what a couple of her favorite things were. I discovered that she - just like me - loved mint chocolate chip ice cream. But she did say that she liked strawberry a little bit better. We then had a very intense discussion about ice cream, which made us both _really _hungry, even though we had just finished lunch.

"You know," I said after we were done talking about frozen milk (that's basically what ice cream is people) , "This school has a killer soccer team. We could still use you, though. Tryouts are this Friday after school out on the field. Wanna come?"

The smile vanished from her face. "You - you want me to tryout?" She echoed, obviously shocked and surprised that I invited her to do something.

"Of course. Unless you think you can't do it," I challenged her, adding a wicked grin to the mix.

She smiled a little bit, but I could tell she was nervous. "No... I'll be there," she said quietly. She apparently didn't have CPI.

I softened my smile. "Great," I said. "Hopefully we'll both be on the same team."

She looked confused. "You don't have a guy's team and a girl's team? I thought that was standard for all high schools."

I rolled my eyes, "Melissa Hotchkiss is the head coach of this school's soccer program. She's also head of the Athletics department at this school. She has this thing about splitting boys and girls up for any sports team. She hates it. And when it comes to soccer she says, 'Everyone is equivalent out on the field. No one is better than the other,' and a bunch of stuff like that."

Wanderer looked impressed, "She sounds really cool. From the way you talk about her I'd say that you've known her for a while."

I was surprised at how observant she was. "Yeah... I kinda know her outside of school too. Jeb too. He's the principal."

That caught her attention for some reason. "You know Jeb?"

"Yeah... why do you ask? You know him?"

"No... not really," she said. But something was off in her voice. I realized she was lying. Poorly, I might add. I narrowed my eyes.

She squirmed under my gaze.

I decided to relax. It wasn't my business to ask her all of these questions. Maybe in time, she'll grow to trust me, and tell me the truth. I was still practically a stranger to her.

I glanced up absentmindedly at the clock on the wall.

"_Crap_," I hissed under my breath.

"What is it?" she asked in a concerned tone.

I pointed to the clock. "We have five minutes left. It was my intention to at least listen to the lecture for seven solid minutes. I guess that's out the window."

She started to smile.

"What?" I demanded.

"No sweat, Ian," she said with a smirk. "I've got a tape recorder hidden in the front of the classroom. It had Dr. Ricks' entire speech recorded on it. You can borrow it tonight if you want."

I stared at her before I started to grin like an idiot, "You really are amazing. Thanks so much."

"No problem," she replied. "Hey... what do you have for sixth period?"

"P.E.," I said. She looked a little disappointed. "You?"

"English with Uyeda... too bad. I have P.E. fourth period."

I internally groaned. "I have Uyeda too, except I have her first period."

"Darn," she muttered.

I was disappointed too, but I couldn't help from feeling elated. She _liked_ me. I'm not saying that she like liked me, or that she has the same infatuation over me as I had with her, but she enjoyed my company apparently. That was a good sign.

"You've got the weirdest grin on your face, "she told me. I laughed.

Then the bell rang. Stupid bell...

Wanderer and I scribbled down our homework, she retrieved her tape recorder, and we walked out of class together.

She seemed sorry to go, and I was devastated to see her leave, but I made her promise that she'd have lunch at our table tomorrow. She agreed - laughing in that musical way she does - that she would come, as long as Evangeline didn't dump food on someone again. I told her I couldn't guarantee that. She walked away smiling.

I think I'm really going to enjoy fifth period science this year.

**Author Note: What do you think? Please review and tell me. Have an awesome day.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I owe all of my thanks to WritinGale, who reminded me to hurry my butt up and post a new chapter. Thank You! You rock my socks. :) And for that, I dedicate this chapter to her. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not won HOST.**

**Friday, 5th period Ricks, Wanderer's POV**

Ian groaned as Dr. Ricks launched into a whole new phase of his lecture - the advantages and disadvantages of cloning plants.

"Let's just ditch sixth period," he said.

I felt my jaw drop. "What?"

He didn't notice my reaction. "You go to Uyeda... tell her you have a headache or something. I'll just skip P.E. No one even notices who's in P.E. class anyway. The teachers just scream at the big kids, the big kids scream at the smaller kids, the smaller kids pick on the lazy kids, and the lazy kids just sing jingles the whole time, and then the nerds start throwing spit balls at the lazy kids because they're being too loud, a spit ball lands on the one of the jocks, then the jocks want to beat up the nerds, and the big kids want to get in one the fight too. It's complete chaos. No one will notice I'm gone." He said this all in such a nonchalant way... like it was no big deal to skip class. I was also slightly disturbed about the way he described P.E, although what he said was kind of true.

I just looked at him. Humans were so weird.

Maybe I _should_ go ahead and skip Uyeda's class. I knew everything we were covering. I was taking an online college level English course supplied by the NYU (New York University). In fact, I wasn't just doing it for English, but for all of my classes. Yes, I admit, I am a geek. There's nothing wrong with that. But what if my adoptive agency found out I'd ditched school? I'd have to go live with strangers. Foster parents. There was no way I was going to risk _that_ from happening.

"I can't ditch class, Ian," I said softly, apologetically. "I...I...I... just... can't. I can't ditch class."

Ian's eyes - they had been staring lazily at nothing in particular - suddenly sharpened, and zoned in on my face. I shifted in my seat, uncomfortable with his stares. He was so different than any other human I had ever met in the fourteen years I've been pretending to be one. He seemed to notice everything about me. Every little change in my tone of voice. It was... strange. Very inhuman like. Humans were never were so observant, so careful. Ian... was... he was... unlike any person I had ever met, including Melanie.

I hadn't been lying, but somehow he had detected a lot more than just a polite decline in my voice. I feared, as his gaze held mine, that he would see the slight sheen of silver that I tried to hide behind dull and scratched contacts. He knew there was something different about me. I knew that he knew. And he knew that I knew that he knew. He didn't seem to care.

Ian dropped it. I felt his icy blue eyes, filled with questions - not exactly accusations but something that bordered on the edge of a negative feeling, a feeling I couldn't quite place - ease up, and I slowly felt a warmer feeling in the air around me. His eyes had changed from a burning, intense heat, to a more calm, flowing warmth. It was strange... because his eyes were closer to the color of ice than fire. I worked up the nerve to look him right in the eyes when I felt his gaze turn more friendly.

His fiery blue eyes were a warm and bright blue. Starting out as midnight black, they faded into an electric blue, turning to a vibrant snowy white. His eyes always seemed to be bubbling with laughter and mischievous thoughts. Mmmm... I felt like I could just melt right into his gaze. His eyes weren't the only thing amazing about Ian, either. He was funny and sweet and friendly. He was a soccer addict. He was also really _really_ cute -

Whoa whoa whoa... what was I just thinking about? Ian. Was. Cute... Did I seriously just think that? Man, I need to snap out of this. Ian is my _friend_. I shouldn't be thinking about him that way. Sure... I guess he was a little attractive. Okay.. maybe he was a little cute. How about drop dead gorgeous? Fine, I admit that he's hot. Ian was really really hot. Okay? There's nothing wrong with being amazingly attractive. It doesn't mean I have feeling for him. Does it?

No. No, no, no, no, and no. I do _not_ have feelings for Ian. Period.

I shook my head slightly, as if that would banish all of the inappropriate thoughts from it. I needed to focus on school, not daydream about a guy who could never possibly like me for more than a friend.

"Hey, are you okay?" Ian asked.

"Uh... yeah. I'm fine," I lied.

He snorted. "I'll just pretend that you weren't lying to my face."

I was quiet for a few seconds. "Is it that obvious?"

"Kind of. I can see that lying isn't your thing."

I smiled weakly. "Not really." I paused. "I'm sorry."

He grimaced slightly. "It's not your fault. Not really. You have nothing to apologize for. It's not really my place to ask you personal questions. Can I ask you for a favor though?"

I nodded.

"Can you stop lying? You don't have to tell me what's bothering you. I won't pry. I just don't want to feel like you hate me all the time. When you lie, I feel like I must have done something to make you mad."

I was shocked by his response. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea. And for the record, I don't hate you. I've just got... a lot on my mind."

Ian laughed. "Thanks."

The bell rang.

"See you at soccer tryouts," he grinned before he dashed off to his crazy P.E. class.

Soccer tryouts. Oh no... I had completely forgotten about those.

**Ian's POV **

After school, I meet Evangeline out on the field where tryouts were being held. We were there before everyone else, changed into our P.E. clothes, and ready to play.

Ange and I were bored waiting for everyone else to show up, so we started passing the soccer ball back and forth.

"So...," Ange said once she had kicked it to me.

"So... what?" I asked as I kicked the ball back to her.

"So... you're in love with that new kid. Wanderer, that's her name right?" This time Ange dug her foot under the ball as she kicked it to me, so it ended up sailing through the air.

"_What!_" Then the ball landed in my face.

Evangeline started to crack up.

"Oh, shut up, sis," I snarled.

"Relax, bro," she laughed. "Your secret is safe with me."

"How... how.. how did you...know?" I asked unintelligently.

"I'm your twin sister. I know everything about you. Don't worry. I'm the only one who's caught on to your obvious infatuation with that girl."

"Just try to keep your mouth shut about it," I grumbled. I wasn't really surprised that Evangeline found out. I'd just have to deal with her teasing until this was all over. _If_ it was ever over. No, I shouldn't say that. I will get over this. In fact, by next week, I'll have banished all of my overly friendly feelings for Wanderer. I've never had a crush last more than a week, although they were never this intense. But how different could Wanderer be? She was only a girl. Nothing more. I would be over this soon.

Wouldn't I? I better... otherwise I'll have to spend an entire afternoon cussing karma out. I _hate_ karma. It always ruins your life.

My cell phone buzzed in my pocket. I flipped it open, rolling my eyes at Evangeline. I stopped dead when I saw a new text glaring at me from the screen.

Evangeline noticed my sudden change in mood.

"What do they want now?' She asked in a hushed voice.

"It's Eddie. I'm leaving."

"Be careful this time. You were half dead and had bloody scars all over you the last time. Don't make me come get you again."

"I won't mess up this time. I've got a few new tricks."

Evangeline patted my shoulder nervously. "Go."

I took off. I felt that familiar feeling of anger boil up inside of me whenever Eddie called. Time to go see what he wanted. I had a few things to say to him anyway, and not all of them were polite or friendly.

**Wanderer's POV**

Coath Hotchkiss blew the whistle.

Everyone stopped warming up and paid immediate attention to her.

"Alright everyone," she said, "partner up and do some standard soccer drills. In the meantime I'm going to be taking each of you aside and we'll have a littlechat while I assess your skills. Go!"

Mel grabbed my arm and poked me in the side playfully. "Wanna be partners?"

"Sure thing," I smiled.

We walked a little ways away from the pack of kids.

"How's school?" Mel inquired passing me the ball.

"Okay," I replied passing it back to her.

"Meet any new friends?"

"No... wait yes. I have. There's this really great guy in my science class. Ian. His sister's Evangeline... the orange juice girl," I laughed to myself.

Melanie stopped dead. "Ian?" She asked with a surprising amount of sharpness in her tone.

I grew anxious. "Yeah... Ian."

Melanie really looked mad now. "Ian... Ian _O'Shea_. Our Ian O'Shea. The one who shares our lunch table?"

"Yes... that Ian. How many other Ians do you know, anyway? Who else could I be talking about? But Melanie, what's wrong. Is it something I said?" I was really starting to get confused.

Melanie, still having that enraged look in her eyes, turned around and blew a sharp whistle through her teeth. Most of the kids turned to look, but when they saw it was only a freshman, the went back to their drills.

But Melanie still called out, "Hey O'Shea... get over here. I've got somthin' to say to you."

Ange jogged over from where she was helping a cluster of sophomore girls learn a complicated drill. "Wassup Mel?"

Mel spoke through gritted teeth. "I want to talk to your brother."

All of the friendliness vanished from Evangeline's tone. "Why?" She countered.

"Never mind why. Go get him."

"I'm not you servant, Stryder."

"I didn't mean -"

"What's going on?" Jared came up behind Mel with Wes, Lily, and Heath at his tail.

"Melanie's accusing my brother of some murder or something," Evangeline said in a voice as hard as ice.

Melanie snarled.

**Later that Evening...**

"I want you to stay away from him," Melanie screeched as soon as my apartment door slammed shut behind us. We had left tryouts the second we were both done being assessed. Melanie and Evangeline weren't able to have their blow out, because the coach had to come over and break it up.

This was certainly a side of Mel I haven't seen before. "Why? Is there... Is there something wrong with him. Is he mentally unstable or something?" I frowned. That wasn't going to look good on my report in June. A species where it was common to encounter creatures with physical disabilities and mental illnesses. The board was going to flip when they heard that...

She snorted. "No, it's not that. Ian's a genius. Just.. just.. be careful. Try to avoid him. In fact, don't talk to him at all unless it's a necessary lab assignment or something."

"Surely there's something else wrong, Mel, otherwise you wouldn't have flipped out like that on the field."

Melanie sighed. "Ian's a great guy. He's one of the nicest people I know. Been my best friend for ages."

"Then...?"

"Ian is... different. He's far from stupid, or thick headed. That's what worries me. If there's any soul - no pun intended- in the entire world who could discover your secret, its him."

I stopped. "What's so different about him?" I asked. There was a new sharpness in my tone that my voice rarely took on, but it also bordered with fear. I shouldn't be surprised, but I was.

"Ian's so... so...observant. Different. Weird. You have no idea what kinds of stories that Ange, Jared, Wes Lilly, Heath and I could tell you about him. Go ask any one of them. Although Ange will probably deny that there's anything abnormal about her brother. Jared would want to remain a loyal friend, so he won't tell you anything. Lilly and Wes don't like to discuss other's people business, and Heath's not a very sociable person. "

"Why don't _you_ tell me why it's okay for you to be friends with him, but not me. You're keeping something from me, Melanie," I snapped, experiencing one of my very rare moments of frustrating anger.

Mel looked at me shocked, her eyes wide.

"Oh, don't give me that look," I muttered, exasperated. "Souls can still get mad. We can get every bit as mad as humans can. We just have a better job of controlling ourselves. But right now my self control is almost gone."

"Relax, Wanderer. Ian is... different."

"Yeah.. you've established that," I grumbled.

"Will you let me finish?" Mel snapped. Then she sighed. "I'm sorry."

Melanie took a deep breath. "Ian and Evangeline have this relative. Edmund... Edward... Ed... Eddie. EDDIE! That's the freak's name. Yes. Eddie. I think he's their cousin or something. Anyway. When Eddie and Ian were little kids, they always hung out together. They were inseparable. Evangeline even got jealous sometimes because Eddie was spending more time with Ian then she was. Eddie used to be my friend too. He was part of our little group."

"Ian and Eddie were nothing short of geniuses. Ange is smart and everything, but when you put Ian and Eddie together, it's like you've got Einstein all over again. Maybe better."

"Ian and Eddie were always doing these labs and experiments. They were also obsessed with space. Other planets. Extraterrestrial life. Aliens."

"I don't understand exactly what happened, but I think Eddie and Ian were building special machines. Devices to pick up on radiation waves from space ships and rockets. Then... one day... they picked up on something really strange. Strange and different. It was your ship, Wanderer."

"Well that did it. Ian and Eddie went ballistic. Their whole life now revolved around finding out what that UFO was, and what was in it. They couldn't talk about anything else. They didn't think about anything else. "

"One day it all changed, in seventh grade. Ian didn't show up at school for several weeks. Evangeline wouldn't tell us where he was, but we knew that she knew. Ian came back, weeks later. His whole attitude had changed. It was like he was a different person. He no longer desired to hunt down the aliens. Something strange happened, Wanderer. I don't know what. I think he and Eddie had a big blow out over something. I don't know what happened. Ian sat us all down later on the afternoon he came back, and told us that Eddie could not be trusted. He also said that he had 'convinced' Eddie to move out of the city. We were not going to see Eddie anymore. We shouldn't talk about him either. Anything tainted by Eddie's name was never spoken about again. Ian wouldn't tell us what had happened to him. He didn't tell us where he went. But something changed in him, Wanderer."

"Then one time, it was toward the end of seventh grade, Ian got sick. I mean _really_ ill. We all thought he was going to die. Ian's parents were gone. They never seemed to be around anyway. Evangeline refused to take him to the hospital, for reasons that none of us understood. But we visited him. We covered for him in school. Lied and said he was on a trip. We really thought he was going to die. It was that bad. Of course he got better, but not before something interesting happened."

Melanie paused, and took a deep shuddering breath.

"One afternoon, I was visiting him. He had a fever. He was delirious. Evangeline wasn't there, so I stayed with him. He kept talking about Eddie, and how he refused to accept a job or something like that, and he kept saying something about jail and death and murder and _horrible_ things."

"Then he started to talk about aliens. He babbled on and on about some alien species called 'souls' who took over our bodies and invaded out minds. Aliens that would crush humanity. But then he started to say all of these wonderful things about them, about how they were kind-hearted and pure and honest, with big eyes that shined silver with long scars on the back of their necks. Then, he became too delusional, the pain became too much, and he passed out. Evangeline came home shortly and kicked me out of the house."

"As I walked home, I thought about what Ian had rambled on about. When he first started talking, I thought he was crazy. Then he started saying all of these things that reminded me so much of you. It was almost like he described you perfectly. The mysterious past, the kindness, the honesty, the shiny eyes and neck scar. I bet you can guess what happens next. Can you?"

I nodded, speechless. My brain could barely process this information. Finally, I found my voice. "That was the night you called me up and asked me if I was human. I broke down and told you the truth. I had always wondered what had tipped you off. I know now."

Melanie looked at me with concerned eyes. "Are you okay? I shouldn't have told you. I just freaked you out."

"No," I said quickly. "I'm glad you told me. Now I know that I should be more cautious."

Melanie left shortly after that, giving me time to think. Her story had unnerved me. My whole perspective of Ian had changed to something I couldn't quite understand. But I did agree with Melanie on one thing.

There was something very strange about Ian O'Shea.

And that's coming from and alien freak.

**I was originally going to name Ian's sister Kate, but I changed it to Evangeline. But sometimes I still type up "Kate" instead of "Ange". I did it in this chap, but then I realized "Kate" wasn't her name, so I had to go back and change it all. But just in case you see the name "Kate" appear in future chaps, I'm talking about Ange, and I probably didn't catch my mistake. Sorry. I'm a horrible editor. I'm crossing that off as a job possibility. **

**Please review. Please? **


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay. Lots of people have been asking why I changed Wanderer's appearance. Here are my reasons:**

**1. I (personally) think she looks prettier this way. **

**2. Her current appearance enables her to be more athletic. ( *cough* *cough* **_**soccer**_**)**

**3. I didn't like the small-blond-w/-freckles appearance that Meyer gave Wan at the end of HOST because it portrayed that Wanderer was weak. I've always thought of Wanderer as a gentle, but a strong individual who has the capability to push herself past the usual standards (mentally and physically). I didn't get that feeling when Wanda's appearance was changed to her more fragile body. **

**xxxxx**

**4. I also don't like the name Wanda. It's a long story involving my boring childhood. I just have a bad relation to the name. That's why I'm not using it in this story. But does anyone have any nickname suggestions for Wanderer? After **_**Wan**_**, **_**sister (sis), **_**and **_**alien freak/parasite**_** I run out of ideas.**

**Sorry for that ramble but I had to get that off my chest. On with the story. **

**Disclaimer: If you don't know the disclaimer by now, I don't think you should be reading this fanfic. Sorry, I'm in a bad mood today. Don't take it personally. **

**Ian's POV**

I sprinted out of the institute, a couple of the security guards hot on my heels. I had sweat running down my face, and my hands were shaking, but it wasn't from the effort that I was making to get out of that hell hole.

I could still hear Eddie's voice, _"Why don't you just give up? Stop caring so damn much about the pathetic parasites. Think of how much we can use them. Use them, then destroy them, and take all of their worlds, their lives, and give it to the humans. It's only fair, after all they've done."_

I shook my head like a dog, not slowing my pace, but speeding up. The guards were still chasing me.

How I wished that Eddie and I didn't share the same blood.

It made me so sick to hear those words. It made me even sicker, knowing that I could see Eddie's reason behind it. It made me sick, to know that it would only take a little twist for me to start thinking just like Eddie.

A few minutes later, the guards gave up. We had reached the edge of the property anyway. But I didn't stop. I kept sprinting until I knew I was at least two miles away from the institute border.

I took this time to stop and catch my breath. I took a slow, long look around me.

I was in the middle of a huge desolate field. Nothing around for miles. There was an old dirt road about two hundred yards away. Not that anyone was using it.

I became thankful for the tall brown grass and weeds growing around me. If Eddie tried sending some people in a truck after me, I would see them coming long before they saw me, and I could duck down in the grass for cover.

My moment of relief was short lived, because then it hit me that I really was in the middle of nowhere. A hundred miles away from my beloved city, and not a _sane_ person around for miles. Emphasis on the word sane.

I realized that I felt really week, and strangely dizzy. Odd.

I then became aware of something hot, sticky, and wet flowing through a torn part in my jeans.

Sighing, I sat down and inspected my wound. There was a long, deep gash on my calf. A knife wound. Huh. I had forgotten that Eddie had chucked a knife at me when I turned down his proposition. Eddie had always had a bad temper. Didn't like hearing _no_ for an answer.

I made a face. I was starting to feel the pain from the wound. My body was drained of energy and adrenaline, making me weak and vulnerable if Eddie sent someone after me. I knew I wouldn't be able to out sprint two full grown guards a second time. Not in this state. It also didn't help that I was losing a ton of blood.

I was seeing little black spots. My vision was swimming, my hands clammy, the whole earth was shaking and vibrating, the sound of the wind turning disorienting.

But I forced myself to stay conscious, and with shaking hands, I pulled out my cell phone, checked to see that I had one precious bar of reception, and pressed _1_.

The speed dial kicked in immediately. I could hear the annoying ring already.

Kyle and Ange both picked up halfway through the first ring.

"What the hell were you thinking?" was Kyle's greeting.

"Are you okay?" demanded Ange.

"I can't believe you went to Eddie's. You _know_ he's looking for every opportunity to do you in," snarled Kyle.

"Are you okay!" screeched Ange.

I was able to choke out. "Can't believe I'm saying this, but Kyle's right. Shouldn't have come. He tried to do me in alright, but not before he cooked up some story about us taking over the universe first. I told him to go to hell, and he sent his entire security squad on me. Barely made it out. Currently stuck in the middle of nowhere."

Kyle sighed into the receiver. "At least you're alive. We'll come get you."

"Be careful. I think Eddie's got some people on patrol."

Ange spoke up. "We'll be able to find you without getting caught. Are you in that wasteland field surrounding the institute?"

"Yeah."

"Do you know which side?"

"Umm... south east. I'm about two hundred yards from that dirt road."

"Got it," Kyle said. "We'll be there in and hour. Forty-five minutes at best."

"Don't get a ticket, Kyle," I muttered.

He gave a forced chuckle.

"See you, Ian," Evangeline said in a hoarse voice.

"See you. Oh, and if you don't see me at first, search around in the grass and you might find my unconscious body. Or a trail of blood that'll lead to me."

With two groans on the opposite receivers, the line disconnected.

I then felt everything go black as I passed out on the earthy floor, unable to stay conscious any longer. Very empty and black.

**Wanderer's POV**

Shivering violently, I tried to sink deeper into my shabby sofa, and I pulled my threadbare blanket tighter around me. I was freezing.

It was raining so hard, and it was so cold, I almost expected it to start snowing. But it was September. There wasn't snow in September. There wasn't supposed to be rain either, now that I think about it. But there was.

I was flipping aimlessly through the pages of my biology textbook. Usually human science fascinated me. But not just human science. Biology. The study of _life_. It was extremely mesmerizing to look at the world through the eyes of human scientists. It was very different from the way us souls were taught. Different concepts were covered. Different ways of thinking were introduced. Different ideas. I loved it.

But even now, osmotic pressure wasn't as interesting as it usually was. My mind kept wandering. I couldn't focus on my text.

I kept thinking about Ian.

What was it about that boy that was so intoxicating? I couldn't stop thinking about him. And _who_ was Eddie?

Ian knew all about me. All about us. About my kind. This was not good. Not good at all.

I kept telling myself that I should be scared, frightened to the very bone. But, oddly, I wasn't. Ian's creepy way of gaining knowledge and his creepy cousin weren't the things sending the cold shivers up my back. They should have. But they weren't.

I was strangely comforted just at the bare thought of Ian. The mention of his name. I just felt so... safe around him. Uhg. Listen to me. I sound so stupid.

But still, I found it very hard to imagine that Ian would ever hurt me. He didn't seem violent, or aggressive. He could be rowdy, boisterous, and extremely competitive, but _dangerous_? No, no... I found it very difficult to think of Ian as dangerous in any way.

Melanie could be such a drama queen at times. But I guess she was only trying to help me.

I was still going to stay away from Ian though. I don't care how friendly or non-dangerous he might seem. I was risking way too much by interacting with him.

One little slip. A glance at my real eyes, and it would be all over.

If he knew, and if I kept talking to him he would know, that was the end of it. Invasion of souls. Bye bye humans.

I couldn't let that happen.

My decision confirmed, I gritted my teeth and forced myself to soak in the material from the textbook. After all, I had my first biology test on Monday.

And I had heard that Dr. Rick's tests were living nightmares.

**Ian's POV (Monday) **

The bell had rung. Thank god. Monday was _over._

The kids from the P.E. classes swarmed back to the locker rooms, all of us dressed in those identical P.E. shorts and shirts, sweaty and exhausted.

But not me. I was full of energy. I had challenged Jared and Mel to a two on two game of soccer with me and Evangeline this afternoon. I couldn't wait to kick their butts. But in all fairness, Jared and Melanie made a really good team. Ange and I actually had to work hard to squeeze a goal past them. One of the many reasons that I loved playing those two.

Back in the boys lockers, I found Jared, who also had 6th period P.E. with me. He had collapsed on the bench in front of our lockers, his shirt damp, wiping sweat from his eyes.

Grinning I strode up to him. "Man, what happened to you?"

Jared groaned and stood up. "Intervals with Coach Marden."

Not being an expert with running terms I clarified, "Nonstop sprints?"

"Yup."

"Time?"

"Fastest one, but doesn't mean I enjoyed it."

I chuckled. "Sucks for you, Howe."

He tried to glare at me, but ended up grinning. "Shut your mouth O'Shea."

He turned to fiddle with his lock as I said, "Anyway, you better get it together, 'cause we've got an epic battle this afternoon."

Jared laughed, "How could I forget. Mel and I are gonna kick your butts."

I snorted.

Jared, still laughing, popped open his lock, and swung the door open, making to grab his clothes.

But his locker was empty.

He stood there shocked, like if he kept staring at the empty space his clothes would magically appear.

I couldn't help, I cracked up.

Jared's right hand shot out, grabbed a fistful of my shirt, and slammed me up against the row of lockers. I just kept laughing.

"Ian, _where the hell are my clothes?_" he snarled, but I could see a glint of laughter in his eyes.

Still snorting with laughter, I choked out, "Dude, I have no idea."

His grip on my shirt tightened, "Yeah, you do."

My laughter dying, I said, "Seriously, Jared, I didn't take them. I have no idea where you clothes are."

His eyes narrowed.

"Maybe Ange took them?"

He rolled his eyes at me.

I began to feel frustrated. Shoving Jared's hand off of me I say, "Why does everyone think that _I'm_ the guilty one, and not Ange? Because I'm a guy? That's so sexist. It's biased and discriminatory."

Now Jared has to make an effort to keep from laughing. "Well, you hardly have a clean slate."

Every ounce of laughter was gone from my voice. These were dangerous waters."I mess with people's mind's Jared. I get to them from the inside. It's Ange's job to publicly humiliate people. I find all of your secrets, and use them against you."

I could only remember too well how I had used that... that... _skill._I had used it to help Eddie a long time ago. Bad things always happed when I used it. But of course Eddie had wanted me to use my ability, and at the time, I didn't see where it was headed.

Jared had stopped laughing, sensing he had crossed some invisible line.

Sighing, I shook my head, trying to get rid of those painful memories. "Just wear your P.E. clothes home, and don't forget to bring 'em back for tomorrow."

Jared groaned, "My dad will _kill_ me if he sees me in these clothes. "

"Oh, right. Damn. I forgot about your dad."

Jared's mother had been a teacher. Unfortunately, she had worked at one of the schools in a worse part of the city, with higher crime rates and everything. Two years ago, a kid had brought a gun to school. Long story short, Mrs. Helen Howe had died in the emergency room later that evening with a bullet through her chest. There was nothing that the doctors could have done, even if they had reached her in time.

Jared's dad kind of cracked. Turned a little strange. Not dangerous, just different. Being the great guy Mr. Howe was, he didn't blame the kid that shot his wife, even though he had a good right too. Instead, Andrew Howe blamed the school instead. He started going against the entire school system. The bare concept of _school_ and _education_ was a dark word in the Howe household. Andrew wanted to pull his sons out of school, insisting that it was useless and a waste of time and money. Jared's older brothers were forced to leave college for Andrew had taken their tuition money. But Jared's brothers helped Jared fight for his right to continue his basic education and get a high school diploma. Reluctantly, Jared's dad agreed, even though he hated it.

Due to Jared's dad's hate for the education system, showing up home in his P.E. clothes might not be the wisest move on Jared's behalf. I don't think Andrew even knew that his son was talking P.E.

"Then steal someone else's clothes."

Jared made a face.

"Fine. Go to the lost and found. Dig up someones old stuff."

Jared's grimace deepened.

"Well what do you propose?"

Sighing he said, "I've got nothing. I'll go with the lost and found plan then. But can I stop by your place so I can _wash_ the clothes first. My dad's not expecting me 'till after dark anyway."

Nodding, I said, "Fair enough."

**Ian's POV (Later that Evening)**

"No way."

"Yes way."

"I don't believe it."

"It's true."

"How _could_ he?"

"He did."

Evangeline and I were slowly making our way from the large school library, to the grassy green soccer fields that neighbored the school.

"Rick's a freak," Ange muttered.

I chuckled. "I know."

We walked in silent for a few minutes.

"You know," Ange began with a motherly concern in her voice, "maybe you shouldn't play. Just sit this one out. I don't want it to get worse than it already is." She pointed at my jeans, but in knew what she meant. Hidden underneath the denim, lay a long, ugly, dark line that stretched over my calf with little criss crossing lines weaving back and forth over it. After Kyle and Evangeline had rescued me from that desolate wasteland, Ange had insisted on stitching my knife wound up.

"I'm playing," I retorted stubbornly.

"Fine, fine," she muttered with an air of defeat. "You may have it covered up with long pants today, but Mel and Jared are gonna notice that you're not playing the whole field like you usually do. What are you going to tell them then?"

"I'll say that a bear escaped during math class again."

"Something tells me they're not going to buy that, Ian,"

Sighing, I said, "We'll tell them the truth. They deserve it."

She nodded. "Ok. Sounds good. I really hate lying to th- hey, wait. What did you do during P.E? You're supposed to wear shorts during P.E. Didn't someone comment on it in there?"

"I ditched," I said, rolling my eyes as if the answer had been obvious.

In her reply, she sounded exasperated, "Of course you did."

We had reached the fields. "Oh. Look," Ange said forgetting our conversation, and taking on an air of excitement. "There they are."

She bounded onto the closest field where there were not two, but four figures casting shadows across the tall grass.

I could see the sunset perfectly from here. The perfect city skyline in the background.

Nearing the little cluster I called out, "Hey, Jared. Why are you wearing P.E. clothes?"

Jared sent a death glare at me. I laughed.

"Do we have an audience?" Evangeline laughed as she indicated to Heath, Lily, and Wes who were stretching with Jared.

"You have participants," corrected Wes.

"What? No. It was just supposed to be two on two. I wanna _destroy_ Mel and Jared."

Heath laughed. "C'mon Ange. Don't you want to destroy us too?"

Evangeline tried to send a death glare at Heath, Wes, and Lily, but ended up grinning like a fool.

"Fine," she muttered. "You're in."

The trio gave whoops of delight.

I joined the stretching circle. "Speaking of the devil, where _is_ Melanie?"

"Oh, she had to go pick up Jamie."

"The kid's in eighth grade. As long as he's careful and keeps his street smarts, he can walk himself home," Lily murmured.

"Try telling that to Mel's mom," Jared said.

"Being the youngest in the family can have its disadvantages," grumbled Heath.

"Poor, Jamie," I chuckled.

Lily glared at me. I grinned at her. She blushed, then got a serious expression on her face, and flared her nostrils. I couldn't help it, I gave a little snort of laughter. Then I raised my eyebrows in a weird sort of way. Lily doubled over with silent giggles.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Wes glaring at me.

Quickly, I stopped, and gave an apologetic shrug to, Wes. Wes just stood there stretching, looking slightly dejected.

When we had to set up the goal nets, Wes dragged one to the far side of the field and started looping it through the hooks. I hurried up to help him.

"Listen, Wes," I murmured as I jogged up, and started looping the net through the hooks too, "I'm really sorry, man."

He just shook his head. "'S not your fault."

"Yeah it is. I started it."

"She likes you. That's not your fault." Wes said this so quietly, I could barely hear him.

Quick history lesson here folks: Wes has been head over heels in love with Lily since the third grade. And Lily has no flippin' idea.

"She does not like me, Wes. We're friends."

"She sure doesn't blush like that when she looks at Jared or Heath. Or me, for that matter."

I was starting to feel uncomfortable, and tried to turn the situation in another direction. "Well maybe its teenage hormones. Everyone knows how we can get. Our bodies are having all sorts of weird reactions to weird stuff and we have no idea what the hell's going on. She probably doesn't like me at all, but her brain's just trying to screw with her. My brain does it all the time. Like just last week, I was walking down the street, and I see this pigeon on the sidewalk-"

Wes gives a snort of laughter, "God knows where this story's headed." He laughs again, all the anxiety gone from his face.

I grinned. Mission accomplished. "On second thought, you probably don't want to know the story. It has a disturbing ending."

Wes laughs again. "Thanks, Ian. For that whole pathetic I-don't-like-Lily-and-she-doesn't-like-me excuse. Gotta appreciate the effort though. "

"No, problem," I say. "Besides, I like someone else."

Oh shit. I had _not _meant to say that.

Wes whipped around shocked, an evil grin slowly spreading up his face. "Who?"

"Like I'm gonna tell you," I mutter.

"Seriously, who?"

"Tell anyone what I told you now, and you're dead meat."

"I'm gonna find out."

"Please don't say that."

"I will."

"God help us all."

Laughing, he walked back to the middle of the field, leaving me feeling pissed off at the whole world.

Damn you, teenage hormones.

**Fifteen Minutes later (still Ian's POV)...**

Melanie was sprinting toward the field , already panting and out of breath, no doubt having sprinted from her apartment to here.

There was another figure right behind her, but this person was doing a graceful little jog - if jogs can be graceful - , not a full out sprint.

My heart thudded loudly in my chest. It was Wanderer.

"Where the hell have you been?" Jared yelled to Mel from beside me. She was still sprinting toward the fields.

"Um, Jared?" I mutter so no one else can hear. "I'm pretty sure that girls don't think that guys who scream at them are turn ons."

Jared glared at me, but I noticed that he stopped yelling immediately.

"Just trying to help you out, man," I grumble.

Oh, yeah. That's another thing I forgot to mention. Jared likes Mel. A lot.

Our lives really are pathetic aren't they? Jared likes Mel. From what Ange has told me, Melanie's got a crush on some sophomore in her Spanish class. Heath has got a crush on Evangeline. Evangeline's got enough sense and sympathy to pretend she doesn't know about it. Wes likes Lily. Lily likes me? Not sure about that one. I like Wanderer, who hasn't acknowledged me all day. I have no idea what that's about, by the way.

This really is just a dramatic hormonal teenage fiasco.

... Except with killer cousins named Eddie who want to take over the universe.

**It's been so long since my last update, I tried to make this chapter a little longer than usual. Hope you liked it.**

**Review? Please please please?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks to ladaane, WritinGale, TeamAliceCullen, and TeamLeah1993 who always write fun, funny, and fantabulous reviews and always brighten my day. Love u guys :D This chap's for you all. **

**Wanderer's POV**

"SCORE!"

Melanie screeched in elation as she launched the ball into Ian and Evangeline's net for the last time that day.

"Ha! Take _that_ O'Shea!"

Ian rolled his eyes. "Mel. The game _ended _five minutes ago. We beat you five-three."

Melanie cackled. It only sounded a little hysterical. "I don't _care_," she said laughing.

Sighing, Ian jogged over to the goal post and started disabling the net.

Jared, Wes, Heath, Lily, and Ange, still breathing hard and laughing from the action packed game, all trotted off to go take down the net at the opposite end of the field. Melanie sprinted after them once she was done having her laughing fit. Mel's like that some time. She gets hyper off of nothing. Weird. But that's Melanie for you.

It had been a fun afternoon. Everyone had enjoyed themselves. Even me. Everyone gave it their all, many bad jokes were made, two good ones were made, and the people on Mel and Jared's team got the snot kicked out of them by Evangeline and Ian who, according to Melanie, still ran undefeated.

I chucked at the memory. Then I realized I was standing all alone in the center of the field. Feeling slightly self-conscious, I looked around.

Jared and Wes had gotten the net down and had decided to tie Wes and Ange up together on one of the goal posts. Lily and Melanie were rooting the boys on and teasing Ange, who looked ready to kill someone.

Laughing, I turned to watch Ian. I don't know why I got a swooping sensation in my stomach when I turned to look at him at the other end of the field. I silently wondered if my lunch was disagreeing with my stomach. That cheese on the sandwich did look a few days past the expiration date. But I took it off and just ate the bread instead. Besides, the sensation in my stomach wasn't unpleasant. It made me feel kind of jittery, but excited and nervous at the same time.

I'll never understand the human body's reaction to things. I've been studying human biology for fourteen years and I still don't get it half of it. Oh well.

Looking at Ian, I noticed that he was having some trouble taking down the net. The two metal goal posts that we hung the nets from were about ten feet tall. In order to get the nets up or down, a person had to shimmy up the pole, and hook the net trough a loop at the top of the pole. It wasn't that hard, you just had to be a good climber and be able to hang onto the top of the pole for more than three seconds. But Ian seemed like he was having difficulty.

I observed him as he jumped up onto the pole. He definitely looked like he had experience with this sort of thing. Hi reached out his muscular arms to grip the pole tightly, and using just his arm strength pulled himself a few more feet into the air, no problem. So what was the problem?

Getting curious, I started walking over to where Ian was trying for the second time to take the net down. Maybe he just messed up the first time. Maybe it was nothing.

But as I observed a few seconds longer, I realized it wasn't nothing. Something was wrong.

So Ian definitely had arm strength. He could pull himself to the top of the pole easy. But if you're going to take down a soccer net, one hand has to let go of the post for a few seconds. And no one can hold to the top a ten foot high goal post with just one arm for ten seconds. You need to use your feet to grip the pole too.

Ian made it to the top of the pole. Letting go with one hand so he could disable the net, he used his shoes to grip the base of the post. Being able to do this required strength in the leg muscles too. Especially the calf.

This is where the problem came. Ian came crashing back down to the grassy floor, glaring at the pole as if he wanted nothing more than to destroy it. I noticed he winched as he stood up again and for the first time that day, I saw that he walked with a slight limp in his step. That limp definitely wasn't there last week.

With real concern now, I watched again as Ian attempted to climb the pole. He was serious this time. Real determination etched in his face.

He jumped the pole, used his arms to claw his way up, but the same problem arose. His left foot seemed fine, but as soon as he tried to grip the pole with his right foot, he fell right off the goal post again.

I watched him drop back to the ground, but this time he sank to the earthy field and gave a little groan of pain as he rubbed his right calf.

That's when I noticed the large, dark, wet spot that was slowly spreading over the area of his jeans that covered his right calf. When he drew his hand away it was red. It was red from blood.

Seriously freaked out now, I ran to him.

"_Ian_? Ian are you okay?" I inquired in a breathless voice as I sank down to me knees so I was sitting beside him.

He looked up shocked. "What?"

"What... what _happened _to your leg?" I motioned to the crimson liquid that was seeping through the denim.

Sighing he said, "Would you believe me if I told you it was nothing?"

I immediately replied, "No."

Ian groaned again, but whether it was from exasperation at me or pain from the wound, I wasn't sure. A little of both I guess.

Feeling like I should be doing something I told him, "I'll go get Ange. She'll know what to do."

That got his attention. "No. No no no. Don't get Evangeline. She'll _freak_."

"_She'll_ freak!" I screeched. "_I'm_ freaking! I have _no_ idea what to do. How do you _expect_ me to be reacting? I watch you attempt to take a soccer net down _three_ _times_, which is something you've obviously done before. But each time, your right leg gives out. And then I see you've got a great big river of _blood_ streaming from your calf. _What am I supposed to do, Ian! _What do you _want_ me to say? I have _no_ experience with stuff like this. You want me to say 'No big deal. Ian's only _bleeding_ to death. That's nothing. _Nothing_.'! I don't _think_ so, O'Shea. If I can't get Evangeline, then what do _you_ suggest we do?"

Ian just looked at me. Then he started laughing.

I was dumbfound. "What is so _funny?"_

Still laughing he said, "Nothing, nothing."

Then he looked up at me and murmured. "It sounds like you've been watching me a lot this afternoon."

My jaw dropped. He smirked.

Dang, this guy was good. He was _way_ too observant.

Thinking fast I said, "I'm getting Evangeline."

Feeling a little smug I saw the smirk fall from his face. "No. No. Please don't. I know this sounds really pathetic but _please_ don't get Ange."

"Ian," I sighed, "All jokes aside, you're losing a lot of blood. What happened to your leg?"

Ian said nothing. The color from his face however was slowly draining away and beads of sweat were forming on his forehead.

"Fine," I murmured, keeping patient with the stubborn human. "Let me tie something around the wound then. Maybe I can stop the blood before Ange returns from being tied up."

His eyes narrowed. "I thought you said you didn't know what you were doing."

"There's a first for everything, human," I muttered under my breath as I pulled a ragged piece of cloth out of my short's pocket.

I realized my mistake too late.

"What did you call me?"

"Nothing," I said quickly. How could I have been as stupid as to call him that?

Wrapping the cloth over the denim, I quickly tied it and knotted it three times. Leaning back I inspected my handiwork.

"How did you just conjure this fabric out of thin air?" Ian joked slowly sitting up and running his hand over the spot where I tied the material.

"We're making banners in English class for a book we're reading. I found this piece of green felt in the arts and crafts classroom during lunch today and I thought it would be the perfect color to border my banner. I tucked it in my pocket and I forgot all about it until now..." I trailed off thinking he would think of me as a geek for getting all uptight about a silly English project.

"I bet the banner would have looked amazing," he said.

Feeling stunned I stammered, "Excuse me?"

"The banner. I bet it would have turned out really good. You've got this creative style. I bet yours will be the best. Sorry about the felt thought. If you had told me what it was for I wouldn't have let you use it." He gave me an apologetic smile.

I shook my head in amazement. "Nonsense. You were injured. Besides it worked, the blood's already stopped."

I motioned to his calf, and sure enough, no more blood was flowing from the wound.

"Thanks, a lot Wanderer," Ian said after a minute. "It means a lot to me. All I have to do now it wait for Ange to kill me." He chuckled.

But I was curious. "I don't suppose you'll tell me what happened to get that injury."

Ian looked uncomfortable. "I'm telling everyone tonight. Doing anything after this? Whenever we have a game like this after school, everyone usually comes over to my and Ange's place for dinner. I'll tell you guys then." Ian looked at me expectantly, and if I wasn't mistaken, a little hopefully.

"Yeah. I'll come," I said.

His tight lipped smile turned into a full blown grin. I couldn't help from smiling back. This boys happiness was contagious. Can happiness _be_ contagious?

"It's not like we have a Ricks test to study for tonight," Ian said.

I laughed. "That was a nightmare. I thought I _knew_ biology. But this test should have been for the AP bio classes that the juniors take."

Ina gave a mischievous smile. "You didn't hear this from me," he said leaning in, "but I hear that he takes the tests that the teachers give the AP bio classes, and adds a million more, even _harder_ questions. Then he gives it to us."

"No way," I said. "He wouldn't."

"Remember that this is the same guy who put up _security __cameras_ up during the test today and patrolled between the desks like some military general," Ian reminded me.

I laughed. "True. I still don't understand why he put video cameras up."

"Well, Dr. Ricks is and unexplainable human life from," Ian chuckled.

I thought back on something Ian said a few minutes ago. "Ian, why did you say my banner would be amazing? It's not like you've seen the posters that I've made in previous schools. For all you know, I'm a terrible artist."

Ian looked amused. "Come now, Wanderer. Have you _no_ confidence in yourself? You're a fabulous artist. I'm your lab partner remember? When we write up labs you've got this style of handwriting that seems really creative and interesting but neat at the same time. When we have to draw up the labs, you get the pictures perfect. Also you do those amazing little doodles in the margins of you lab notebook-"

Ian stopped abruptly as if he realized what he was saying.

But I wasn't sorry that Ian had slipped up. I was really happy. Grinning I leaned closer to him and whispered "It sounds like you've been watching me a lot this past week."

He just stuttered as if trying to come up with a reasonable excuse. Suddenly he gave up and laughed. "Looks like we've both been caught, Miss. Evermore."

I joined in laughing with him. And then it hit me how much I liked spending time with this human. I no longer cared about staying away from him. Ian was my friend. Or at least he still could be. Melanie had always overreacted in situations like this. There was nothing that I needed to worry about. There was _no way _Ian could find out what I was.

Was there?

**Ian's POV **

Okay.

That's it.

I give up.

I admit it.

I am officially in _love_ with Wanderer Evermore.

**I know that Wanderer is a little out of character for this fanfic. But remember that in this story she's been around humans for fourteen years and she doesn't have a voice in her head. :)**

**Please review. Please please please? :D**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own HOST. **

**Melanie's POV**

"I can't _believe-"_

"Shut _up_-"

"I will _not_-"

"I didn't _ask_-"

"You are _so_-"

"_Shut_ _up!_"

Jared, Heath, Wes, Lily, Wanderer, and I all groaned. We were walking back to Ian and Ange's place.

We of course had all freaked out when we saw that Ian was practically _bleeding_ to death out on the soccer field. But nobody had been as scared as Ange. She started _screaming_ at Ian, about god knows what. We had to endure their very heated argument the whole eleven blocks home. But seeing that Ian could barely walk, and refused to accept assistance from anyone, the walk was very slow and tedious. The violent banter between the twins made the walk seem even longer. The argument however, wasn't getting very far between the two of them, seeing as they kept cutting each other off.

So overcome with anger at her brother, Ange _refused_ to walk next to him on the way home. That was why Ian, Wanderer, Wes and Lily were on one side of the street, while Jared, Heath, Evangeline, and I were on the other. This, no matter how much we wished, had not kept the siblings from insulting each other all the way home. They attracted a _lot_ of stares as the yelled at each other from opposite sides of the street.

"Ian, sometimes I wonder if we share the same blo-"

"You know _what_, Ange? Sometimes you can be a _real_ bi-"

"Your a complete and _total_-"

"_Alright_!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. Even thought every pedestrian on the street stopped and stared, it had the effect I was looking for: Evangeline and Ian had shut up.

"Now, _listen," _I snapped, "This is _stupid. _Please, just _stop_ yelling. You're driving us _all_ up the walls. _You_ guys - Ian, Wan, Lily, Wes - come back over to this side of the street. Let's all at least _pretend_ to be civil until we get to the O'Shea place. _Got it?"_

My friends must have known that I was on the verge of killing someone because everyone shut up immediately. Looking both ways, Wes and Lily sprinted back across the street. We fell back into our normal air of friendliness. No one was shouting or screaming or biting each other's head's off. It was nice. Everything almost seemed normal again. Until I noticed that Wanderer and Ian had stayed on the other side of the street. They had not come back over.

I whipped around, searching wildly for them. I found them on the opposite side of the street.

And I was not happy with what I saw.

They were walking side by side, still on the opposite side of the street. They looked happy. They were laughing and joking and making the most of the day. They were _very_ happy.

Too happy.

They looked close and comfortable. They walked together, shoulders bumping into each other. Hands occasionally brushing. I saw _her_ link her arm though _his_.

I didn't like it.

I could see what was going on.

Wanderer was falling in love with the one guy she should stay away from. The guy that could destroy her. Her _and _her secret. The guy that could destroy the souls. The guy that could - literally - kill her.

She was falling for Ian O'Shea.

**Ian's POV (15 minutes before)**

Okay.

Melanie was yelling at us. That wasn't something you got to hear every day. While I disliked Melanie's outburst it made a nice change from Ange screaming at me. Plus Mel was right, we _did _need to shut up.

Melanie was actually kind of scary when she got pissed. Wes and Lily - trying to stay in Mel's good books - sprinted over to the other side of the street immediately. Mel cooled off pretty quick after that. No yelling = happy Melanie. I'll have to keep that in mind.

I may not have been screaming at Ange anymore, but that didn't mean I was ready to act all brotherly toward her again. I wasn't sure if I would be able to contain my frustration and irritation if we ended up walking side by side. Therefore, I made one of my snap decisions to - famously known as either being genius or totally stupid - to stay on _my_ side of the freaking street.

_Ha,_ I thought to myself. _Take that Mel and Ange!_

_Dude, stop yelling, _another annoying voice in my head piped up. _They can't even hear you. _

_I didn't ask you, _I snapped internally back at it.

_I am you, so therefore you are me. So whatever I say to you, you are saying yourself to me. _

_Wait, _the slower side of my brain thought. _What?_

I groaned out loud. I was having an internal conversation with - wait for it - _myself_. Fantastic. A sure sign of insanity.

"Hey," a soft voice murmured behind me. "You okay Ian?"

Instantly, the whole world seemed much brighter, and I forgot all about Ange and my injured calf and Eddie and my annoying subconscious. That all just disappeared.

I glanced back and saw Wanderer. She looked amazing. Her eyes were aglow with life. That sounds weird, but that's the feeling I got when I was around her. She seemed so vibrant with a silent type of energy, a sharpness about her that I couldn't place my finger on. She radiated life. Her whole personality was lively and spirited. This is what made her so special, so different from everyone else. She _was_ life. She was _my_ life. This was why I loved her.

Okay, okay. I understand that the love sick part of me (my heart, my soul - whatever you want to call it) owes my rational side - my brain - an explanation.

Because a little part of me was really mad that I had let myself go fall in love with a random girl in less than six days.

People don't fall in love in six days. It just doesn't work. It's not _supposed_ to work.

I was interrupted in my internal thoughts when Wanderer inquired again. "Ian? Seriously, are you okay?"

She had come to walk next to me, and she reached up to put her hand on my shoulder. Her eyebrows had knit together and her chin formed a little pout to express her genuine concern for my well being. It was kind of cute.

"No, no," I said, brushing away her worries, "I was just spacing out."

She still looked slightly concerned. She still didn't take her hand of my shoulder as we walked side by side. I did my best to ignore the sparks of electricity that vibrated through my shoulder blade from her touch.

"I'm really okay," I said as a last attempt to reassure her.

She seemed to believe me. Her face relaxed and she dropped her hand. I was disappointed by the later action, but I didn't let my face betray it.

There was silence between us for a few seconds as we walked next to each other down the bustling streets. No noise between us, but there was the never ending noise from the city that never sleeps. If I really concentrated, I could make out Jared and Heath laughing over something on the other sidewalk.

"Are we attempting to converge?" Wanderer inquired after a minute of comfortable silence. "Or is that still considered hostile territory?" She jutted her head over to the side of the street where our other six friends were walking and talking.

I didn't have to stop and think about her question. "Still hostile territory. I can see the enemy defenses are still up. They are in no way ready to make peace. And I will only post my white flag when they show signs of becoming more neutral."

"You and Ange...," Wanderer muttered. "So stubborn." But she was laughing. Apparently I had amused her. _Yes!_

Hearing her joyous laugh made my solemn face crack a smile. I loved the way she laughed. The sound of it was bouncy, optimistic, and musical all at the same time. Can laughs even be like that? Well, hers was.

Being the idiot that I was, I didn't stop to think about the next words that flowed out of my mouth.

"Well don't let me keep you from joining them. I'll see you back at my place in a few minutes. I can navigate through these streets fine my myself. You can go."

She looked at me shocked, and a little hurt. I didn't understand her expression at first and felt slightly panicked, but then it hit me like a sack of bricks how what I just said must have sounded like to her. I wanted to kill myself for my stupidity.

Before I could correct my statement she murmured in an injured voice. "Oh... okay. So... you want me to leave? Okay... that's... fine. I'll give you your space... I understand. I'll... see you at your place then... So... Bye. Ian." I could hear all the hurt in her voice. She thought that I wanted to get rid of her. She tried to hid it, but she was terrible at lying.

She broke off and was about to cross the street when I reached out to gently - but firmly - grab her wrist before she could get away.

She whipped around to stare at me with her gorgeous sea green eyes. Her face wore an expression of shock and hurt. Looking at her injured expression, I felt a sharp, horrible pain twist right through my heart. I wanted to kill the son of a dog who made her look so miserable. Oh, _right_. That was _me._ Stupid, foolish, worthless, insensitive _me_.

"No, no, no, Wan," I gushed, trying to get everything out before she disappeared. "Thats not what I meant. I wasstupid, to say something like that. I am _so_ sorry. Please forgive me. I didn't mean _any_ of that. I just didn't want you to feel like you had to walk with me if you didn't want to. Face it - everyone is on the other side of the street. I didn't want to keep you from joining them and having fun just because I'm a stubborn idiot who has serious communication problems with my sister. We all know how boring I am. I felt like I would just annoy you if you stayed here with me. My calf is injured, it hurts like hell to walk, I've lost a lot of blood, my sister is being a snob, and my cousin is a jerk. That's my life in a nutshell. I can't imagine how _anyone_ would want to walk next to a guy as short-tempered as me at the moment. Seriously, though, Wanderer. I am _really_ sorry. "

She just stared at me.

And she stared some more.

Time literally seemed to stop as I held my breath for her response.

I really wished that she would say something. The tension was killing me.

Finally, her expression changed from shock and surprise, to a happy glow that made the whole world shine. She looked like _she _was glowing. All of the hurt had melted away from her face.

Just from the expression she wore, I seriously felt like I was in heaven right then and there.

At last she spoke. "How could you be boring? What is the matter with you? Don't you give yourself any credit? I've known you for only six days, and you're the most interesting person I've ever met. "

I was stunned to stupidity. "Really?"

She laughed. Again I felt like I was in heaven.

"Yes. Honestly."

I grinned.

"Now you'll be the one who has to put up with me. Because I _want_ to walk with _you_ on _your_ side of the street. Is that okay?"

As if she really had to ask.

I took her hand and pulled her back up onto the sidewalk.

"Truthfully, I don't think I've ever been happier," I told her. Her smile was priceless. "Except for this one time when Ange and I played this prank on our brother, Kyle. It was right after he met his girlfriend-to-be. He went on a date with this girl named Jodi, and when he came back, we could tell that he really liked her. That doesn't happen often when Kyle goes on dates. So Evangeline and I decided to have some fun. The next time they has a date, he invited her over to our apartment. He tried to get out of the house most of the evening by getting us to go out to eat and watch a few movies at the theater. At the last second, Ange and I decided to pretend to go, but we really stayed home instead - hiding somewhere in the apartment. Jodi came over, and the whole date was going great. But then we 'came home' early, and totally screw up the rest of the date. We start talking to Jodi and hogging all of her attention and we told all sorts of embarrassing stories about Kyle. But the whole time, we were really just trying to get Jodi to know more about Kyle, so she could see that he wasn't always a stuck up snob like some people might think when they first meet him. Kyle wanted to kill us, but he kept his cool in front of Jodes. But now - all thanks to us - they've been together almost three years. And the thing that got them together was Ange and I. Jodi told us once after a few months into their relationship that the thing that made her realize she liked so much Kyle was how he was able to deal with us annoying, loud, little siblings the whole time. That was a happy day for me and Ange."

Wanderer shook from silent laughter. "Poor Kyle. At least Jodi seems really nice."

"She's amazing. You'll get to meet her in a little bit. There's no doubt she'll be at our place. She practically lives wiht us." I said. I couldn't help but notice the way Wanderer slipped her arm through mine as we resumed our walk. My whole arm felt numb from the feeling of her skin against mine.

I really was a sucker for this girl.

Eddie was the last thing on my mind. Well... second to last.

The _very_ last thing on my mind was that I might have competition if I ever wanted to win this girl over. Yup. _That _was the very last thing on my mind.

**Wanderer's POV**

Nothing could have made me happier at that exact moment.

Everything was perfect in my naive little world. Life was just one big perfect picture.

There we were, Ian and I, walking down the street, arm in arm, laughing over silly little observations and having intense conversations on biology and scheming what to give Ange for her birthday (Ian and Evangeline's birthday would be coming in a few weeks).

When he was tripping over himself earlier to apologize, Ian had been _so_ close to saying that he _liked_ me. He _liked_ me. I could just tell. It made me feel bubbly with a strange type of giddiness that I thought only people in mushy romance novels could get.

I thought nothing could break this little bubble of happiness. Nothing could penetrate this moment.

I soon learned this wasn't entirely true.

I hardly realized it, but while we were walking along, I felt my back pocket vibrate once. I realized I must have received a text. I felt surprised, because so few people know my cell phone number. Plus, my cell is really old, so texting isn't something I can do fast, well, or often on it, so nobody bothers to send me messages that way.

"Oops, hold on, Ian," I said apologetically. "I think my phone just vibrated."

We stopped so I could pull it out and check it. Ian's face betrayed only curiosity.

I flipped open my phone.

I didn't believe what I saw.

My expression must have changed dramatically, because Ian asked, "Wan? Wanderer? Are you okay? What's wrong?"

I could not answer. I didn't understand the emotions that were coursing through my body at that moment. I didn't trust myself to speak.

I felt... shocked. Surprised beyond belief. And a touch of anger, which surprised me, for it was not an emotion I was used to experiencing. But underneath all of that, a strange happiness - a thrill coursed though me at seeing what was on the screen.

My phone said this:

HEY. I KNOW ITS BEEN YEARS. I'VE MISSED YOU. BUT WE REALLY NEED TO TALK. ASAP. CALL ME WHEN YOU CAN.

I double checked the name on the screen to make sure I wasn't imagining it.

The text message was from Burns Living Flowers.

**Oh. And I got a review wondering if I had taken some ideas from books I had read. Like Ian and Wanderer meeting in science class was similar to **_**Twilight**_**? And Wanderer's last name came from the book **_**Evermore**_**? And Wanderer's appearance (black hair, sea green eyes) is too similar to Percy Jackson? I just want to answer this now so hopefully no one will have this question in the future. No, I did not take I ideas from any of these books, even though I had read all of them long before I started this fanfic. I chose Wan and Ian to meet in science, because science is one of the classes where you get to interact with other students the most, so I thought it would be good for them to get to know more about each other in there. And I've had the Evermore **_**name**_** in my head long before I read the book **_**Evermore. **_**And I have honestly never thought that Wanderer looked like Percy Jackson. Sorry if I have offended anyone with the content in my stories, but I assure everyone that the only author I am ripping off ideas from is Steph Meyer. ;) And I put a disclaimer in every chap. **

**So. Whatchya guys think? Please review. They make me smile :D Have a fantabulous day. **


	7. Chapter 7

_**WARNING**_**: Since I can't help my insane imagination, the story is about to get **_**really **_**REALLY****weird. You have been warned. Read on if you dare.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Host.**

**Wanderer's POV**

Have you ever watched the end of a world? The complete and utter destruction of a planet? Not the whole souls-invading-and-taking-over-our-minds thing that humans think is so horrible. Humans don't know the definition of suffering. Have you ever seen a planet nuked? The entire sphere blowing up before your eyes. The sky falling, people screaming, billions dying? Have you ever seen something like this?

I didn't think so.

Just to justify myself, I didn't sign up for this sort of thing. It wasn't exactly in my job description. And yet here I was. Murdering millions. Indirectly off course, but it was still murder. Except today my boss decided to give me a break. He let me blow up the most famous and industrial advanced city in the entire fifth and sixths quadrants instead of destroying an entire planet.

Somehow, it didn't make me feel any better.

But I took the opportunity. Why? I didn't know why. I didn't know anything anymore.

Tendrils of smoke rose up from the destroyed city. I watched as the last fires choked out their final breaths, and extinguished.

The warm, hot dry wind blew across the once beautiful everglades. I glanced at the sky, cursing the malevolent clouds. They stayed, trapping in the poisonous ashes, foul smoke, and tainted air; yet they refused to yield a cleansing rain. It was as if they were mocking me.

I was standing alone on an ashen hill. Dead grass crackled under my feet as I shifted my footing. Here, I could watch the end of the once lively and indestructible capitol. Even thought I was about five kilometers away from the outskirts, my heightened senses tuned into every detail, every change that took place behind the fifty foot carbon-compound-enforced wall that surrounded the city. I ignored my initial instinct not to breathe in the foul air, and I allowed my senses to explore. Parting my lips slightly, and flaring my nostrils, I could smell - and _taste_ - the rotten essence of death that consumed the landscape.

We had accomplished our mission. The capitol was destroyed.

And yet, I felt no satisfaction. No tingle of adrenaline in my veins. I felt... empty. Emotionless. I didn't feel the expected joy or thrill that came with watching a city burn. Especially the city that destroyed _my_ life. The city that contained the evil masterminds that had plotted the destructive and murderous end of my family. Nope. There was no happiness in me.

For years - _years_ - I had promised myself that this wouldn't happen. I wasn't a killer. I was a _soul_ for crying out loud. I didn't _want_ to be a killer. I had sworn to myself that I would never take this job too far. I was only helping Arrow. Working toward the greater good. I wasn't a bad person. I wasn't corrupted. I was just doing my job.

Ha. Yeah right.

As I stared out that the dying capitol, the last of the smoke from the bombs swirling into the sky, I knew I _had_ crossed a line. I had crossed _my_ line. Somewhere throughout the past sixteen years, I had stopped being Wanderer. I had stopped being me. I had transformed into a cold-blooded killer, working for Arrow. Working for the precious New Empire. I was a simple pawn for the corrupted government, playing a part in this great big war that rich executors, sly rulers, and greedy government officials mapped out while sitting behind their polished desks.

Suddenly, my senses streamed outward. The details f my surroundings hit me like a sack of bricks. I ignored the information overload. I had found my target.

I whirled around, faster than a bullet, and lashed out behind me. The intruder ducked under my dagger, but they did not intercept my foot in time.

I kicked out, and slammed my boot into the intruder's chest. If the intruder had been and average six-based life form, or one of Arrow's guard, then the impact of my boot should have shattered every one of the ribs in its chest. Unfortunately, the stranger just stumbled back a few steps, righted itself, and lunged at me again.

I sprang up, easily leaping ten feet into the air, and landed hard on the intruder's back. I couldn't see its face, for it wore a long black cloak, exactly like mine.

Without my conscious notice, my hands snaked up the muscular shoulders of the stranger and wrapped themselves around its neck. I didn't choke the stranger, but I flexed my fingers and dug my sharp nails into the soft skin, giving the intruder a fair warning.

Just then, the person under my fingers started vibrating and shaking. It took me two long seconds to figure out what was going on.

Sighing, I retreated my arms and slid them back into the pockets of my cloak.

"Give it up, Burns," I muttered. "I win."

The intruder still shook with laughter. Chuckling, he stood up and pulled off his hood, revealing the mischievous face of my companion - Burns Living Flowers. Burns was my one and only friend left in this universe.

"Oh... _you_ win?" Burns exclaimed in mock surprise, he was always teasing me. "You didn't win _anything_. There will be a rematch." He was laughing again.

"Burns!" I cried in exasperation. "This isn't funny."

"Nonsense, Wanderer. It's hilarious," he said grinning.

I let out a moan of frustration. "Not _you_ and your pathetic sneak-attacks. _This." _I motioned wildly toward the dead city. Looking out at the horrible, burning horizon, a strange foreign sort of anguish rose up inside of me. I had felt the pain of loss before. The pain of betrayal. Of injury. Of so many indescribable things. But this was different.

"_This_," I repeated, chocking down a sob, "is _not _funny."

For once, Burns was silent.

I closed my eyes to prevent the hot tears from spilling over.

I heard the faintest rustle as Burns moved. I still didn't open my eyes. I heard him walk toward me. I braced myself for whatever he was going to say. If I'd learned anything about Burns Living Flowers, it was that you never knew what he was going to do. He was unpredictable.

But then I felt a strong arm wrap around my waist. I still didn't open my eyes, but I let Burns pull me toward him. I felt another calloused hand touch my face, brush against my cheekbone. When I finally opened my eyes, I saw his eyes staring into mine. His pitch black eyes irises were filled with concern, something I rarely saw. It was an emotion he only reserved for me. I was pretty sure that I was the only creature left alive in the entire known universe that Burns still cared about.

"Wanderer," he whispered. "Are you crying?"

"No," I muttered thickly. An obvious lie.

"I don't believe this," he muttered to himself. "Wanderer. Wanderer Evermore. The great, emotionless, heartless, _indestructible_ Wanderer Evermore... is _crying._ The world must be ending."

That's when I punched him.

I didn't punch him hard. I wanted to. But I didn't. I may be a murderer, but I could never _ever_ hurt Burns. Not intentionally anyway. He was all I had left.

And he laughed. I looked at him like he was crazy. He smiled as me. That stupid cocky grin that lit up my whole little world. I couldn't help from smiling back.

"There we go, Wanderer," he murmured. "It's been forever since I've seen a smile on your face."

I felt my timid smile flicker, and vanish. Burns heaved a sigh, and frowned slightly.

"Please smile, Wanderer," Burns bent low and murmured in my ear. I buried my face in the crook of his shoulder. He smelled like he always did: a sweet smoky scent. His name was well deserved. To me, he smelled like home.

"I just can't do this anymore Burns," I sobbed. Sixteen years worth of guilt and anguish poured out of me in one great tsunami.

"Shhh, Wanderer," Burns murmured in my ear. "You don't have to do this anymore. No one can force you."

"But," I mumbled, "Arrow wants -"

"Honestly, Wan," Burns said, cutting me off, "who the hell cares what Arrow wants?"

I muttered something incoherent into Burns' shoulder. He sighed. Again.

"He not the same person anymore, Wanderer. He's different. Changed. You have to let him go. If you keep doing what he wants, you'll not only kill millions of other people, you'll end up killing yourself too."

I took a shaky breath, and pulled away from Burns. I wiped the tears away from my eyes and pulled away his arms. I took a few steps back.

If Burns was at all hurt by my sudden rejection of his comfort, then he didn't show it.

However, I had made up my mind. "I'm running away," I declared boldly.

Burns let out a groan.

"_What?_," I demanded. "Arrow will never let me go. I can't just walk up to him and quit my job. He'd kill me before he let me leave. Running is the only choice."

Burns was the one who had his eyes closed now. "I know," he muttered in a defeated sort of tone.

I didn't really know what I was doing before I did it. I stepped forward, and put my hands on either side of Burns' face. When his eyes flashed open, they looked slightly surprised.

"Come with me," I breathed.

Now Burns was definitely surprised.

"What?" He asked, shocked beyond belief.

"Come with me," I said eagerly. "C'mon, Burns. We can _do _this. We can easily steal a two man fighter, disengage the tracking system, and blast out of here. We only need to make it as far as Sirap before we can jump cargo ships, but we'll go as far as Nodnol just to be safe. They E's are unfamiliar with Nodnol territory. They'll never find us. If we catch a lucky break, we'll find a ship heading out for Quad. 2. If not, then we can disappear when we get to Tnomerf. We'll blend in, disappear. No one will ever hear from us again. And then we can..." I trailed off when I realized that Burns was shaking his head.

He was slowly backing away from me, pulling my hands off his face. He looked... sad. Very very sad.

I didn't want to know why he was shaking his head. Or backing away. I didn't want to know why his eyes looked sad.

"I... I... I'll miss you, Wanderer," Burns whispered with a broken voice.

I didn't let the meaning of the words register in my ears. I couldn't let them.

"Why?" I said in a voice barely audible.

"I just can't."

"_Why?"_ I screeched. I was shaking. Trembling from head to foot. I had lost everything. _Everything._ My home. My family. My brothers. My sisters. My planet. My people. Everything I cared about. It had all been ripped away. And now I was losing Burns.

"No, no, Wanderer," Burns said, very worried now. "Don't do this. Don't do this to yourself. Stop this."

I couldn't stop shaking. I couldn't prevent the wave of panic that had suddenly welled up inside of me, threatening to consume me. I was paralyzed with fear.

Burns grabbed my shoulders. "No, Wanderer. Don't do this. Don't shut down. You can't freak out now. I won't be gone forever. I can't leave. It will be too dangerous for the both of us to leave together. They'll be so much more likely to catch us. They'll kill me... but then they'll give you to Norecracin. You're too valuable to the E's to be dispose. They'll keep you. Use you. Torture you. You have to get out _now. _Wanderer, I _will_ find you again. One day. But you have to run now."

"Burns." I felt hot pricks behind my eyes again.

"_Now_, Wanderer," Burns said. "The shift change is in a quarter hour. That's the time to try. You may not get another chance like this. The aircraft hanger is only two kilometers north. You can still make it there."

"Burns."

He looked at me, the anguish in my eyes was mirrored in his. "It's not goodbye forever. Just remember that."

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. I stepped back and held out my hand.

"I guess this is where we part ways," I said, trying to hold on to the state of paralyzed calm.

Burns grabbed my hand and pulled me toward him.

And he kissed me. Right on the lips.

**Still Wanderer's POV**

I woke up in a cold sweat, sitting bolt upright. I was freezing, yet I was burning up at the same time. Goose bumps covered my arms.

My hand flew to my mouth, feeling my lips, where Burns had kissed me just second before.

But he hadn't. It was a dream, I reminded myself. All a dream.

Except it wasn't a dream. It was a memory. A memory from hundreds of years ago. Why had it come back to me now?

_Maybe because this is the first time you've heard from him since the two of you broke up,_ an annoying voice in my head spoke up.

I moaned and collapsed back onto my bad, burying my face in my pillow. Yes Burns and I were together. Well... we _were_. I had escaped Arrow's clutches successfully. Barely, but I had made it to Tnomerf. I hadn't been lucky enough to catch a ship going to Quad. 2. I waited in the overcrowded city. I waited for years. I built a life there. I got a new job, new name, new identity. I started fresh. And I lived in Tnomerf for fifty-four years, just waiting for someone to show up.

Then Burns came.

He had run away too.

And then we started our new life together.

It was complete and total bliss for a while. I had lost everything. But now I had something again. I had something I loved. Someone to care for. It was like my broken little world had been mended.

And then it all went downhill. We were together for seventy-one years. Then it ended. And I never saw him again. Never heard from him. Until today... eight hundred and twenty-two years later.

For some reason, the thought of Ian slammed into my head. The idea of Ian and Burns did not coexist peacefully in my mind. My head hurt so much I thought I would explode.

I screamed into my pillow.

Okay. Relax. Breath. It was okay. Everything was fine.

No.

It wasn't.

I needed to talk to someone.

Melanie.

I needed to talk to Melanie.

Since all that was in my room was a bare mattress on the floor, a threadbare blanket, a pillow, a window, my backpack, a stack of books in the corner, and my phone, all I had to do was reach down and feel the ground beside my mattress.

My hands brushed across the object I was looking for.

I flicked open the phone. The bright screen illuminated the room, almost blinding me.

It was 4:32 in the morning.

Somehow, I didn't care.

I punched in Mel's cell number anyway.

I heard a faint buzz on the other line.

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

It kept ringing.

I was about to hang up, giving up hope that Mel would answer, when I heard a very annoyed, "_What_?" on the other end.

"It's me," I whispered into the dark.

Melanie's tone immediately changed from anger to concern. "Oh, for the love of the _gods_, Wanderer, where _were_ you this afternoon. I was worried sick. It's 4:30 in the morning. Are you all right? Are you hurt? Are you sick? What did Ian do to you? I see you two walking together down the street, and when we get to the O'Shea place five minutes later, you're gone. _Poof_. Ian didn't tell me where you were. He just said you weren't feeling well and went home. And then Ange and Ian kicked us all out of their apartment, telling us they'll give us the scoop _tomorrow_. What the hell is going on? Are you okay? I swear I wanna kill Ian _so_ bad right now-,"

I let Melanie rant herself out to her heart's content. I couldn't suppress the smile that had formed on my face. Ian hadn't told Mel anything. Nothing about our conversation, or my text, or me freaking our afterward. I know he noticed my poor lying when I told him I had to go. He didn't even ask why. I just told him not to tell anyone. Against my will, I felt my respect and affection for the strange human rising up inside my chest, settling much too close to my heart.

Finally I cut Mel off. "Burns texted me today."

There was sudden silence on the other end. Then there was a response.

"What did he want?"

I swallowed. "He said he needed to see me."

"But you guys… you're not… you know… _together_ anymore. Right?"

"No. I tried to end it, but I don't think he wanted it to. I'm not sure if _he _knows it's _really _over. I don't know what he wants. I don't know what to do Mel."

"What happened with the two of you anyway?" Mel asked.

I didn't answer.

"Okay, _fine_," she grumbled, "You don't have to tell me. So where does he want to meet you?"

"I don't know," I murmured, "I haven't called him back yet."

"Okay… so he… wait a minute. He texted you while we were headed to the O'Shea place?"

"Yes…," I said slowly. I was suddenly worried about where this conversation was headed.

"And… and Ian was standing next to you when you got Burns message. He was there with you. Did he see it?"

"No… I made up a pathetic excuse and got the hell out of there. He was actually pretty good about it. Didn't ask any questions."

Just then, the unmistakable sound of laughter burst out from the receiver on my phone.

"_What_?" I demanded. "What's so funny?"

She was still laughing as she choked out, "Ian's gonna ask you about it. His curiosity will get the better of him. It always does. If you lie, he'll know, but he'll drop it. If you tell him part of the truth…" Mel started laughing even harder.

"What?" I asked in a flat voice.

"Ian's going to be _sooo_ jealous," Mel laughed. "Ian has never _ever _liked a girl as much as he likes you now. And it's not as if he's ever had competition in getting girls. This – will be very _very_ interesting."

I was speechless. Then I found my voice. "Don't be stupid Mel. Ian doesn't like me. Why would he? We're just friends."

Mel chuckled. "Looks like someone's in denial."

"_No_, Mel. It's just that-"

"Yeah, yeah," she sniggered. "I'll see ya tomorrow, Wan."

She hung up laughing.

**Sorry if that chap was a little boring. Not much went on. Next one will be more interesting. **

**This chapter is dedicated to CherryBlip for taking her time to tell me **_**exactly **_**what she thought of my story. Haha. And reminding me to update. :)**

**I know it was a little too similar to Hunger Games in the beginning there. Sorry. I was too lazy to invent a name for the burning city. **

**Hope you enjoyed. And I have NO idea how long this fanfic is going to be. I have NO ending planned for it whatsoever. It may run on infinitely. Haha. Just kidding. But it is going to be very long. **

**Thanks for reading. Please review! Have a fantabulous day. Host rocks my socks. :D**

**-Wavetail**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Host. **

**Ian's POV**

"Pop quiz!" Dr. Ricks bellowed from the front of the classroom. "Everyone get out a pencil and a sheet of paper."

Immediately the room started to buzz with nervous anticipation. A small amount of fear leaked into the atmosphere.

Damn. I should have known. Dr. Ricks was famous for pulling these 'pop quizzes' on his class. Ha. They weren't even quizzes. They were 100 question, multiple choice tests and an essay answering a very difficult and complicated question.

And if that was a _quiz_, just take a minute and imagine what an actual _test_ is like. Yes. It's _that_ bad. Very very bad.

A kid in the front raised his hand. Ricks called on him.

"Excuse me, sir, but if we're already having another... um... _quiz_... then when are we getting the results back from yesterday's test?"

"Tomorrow," Ricks answered curtly. "At the end of the period."

Another kid raised her hand. "What material will the quiz be specifically covering?"

"Everything you learned in 8th grade science, which I believe was an entire semester of physics and then chemistry."

Some kids almost fell out of their seats. Others looked pale, faint, and on the verge of throwing up. The rest just sat with their mouths gaping open, dumbstruck, not believing their ears.

I chanced a glance at Wanderer, curious about her reaction to the news. She looked... bored. Doodling in the margins of her lab notebook as usual.

I watched as she fiddled with her pencil. It seemed to me she was just drawing random lines, a maze of graphite. But as I looked closer, I could see concentration embedded into her calm expression, and the swirling mass of meaningless strokes on her notebook transformed into something different.

I was interested now. Curious, I leaned forward to get a closer look at the strange doodle. I was so focused on Wanderer's drawing, I didn't notice that my face was just inches from hers.

Now that the drawing was closer and clearer, the blur of lines started to form a picture. Most of the lines were hard and firm, sure of their place. Others looked hazy, as if they were going to run off the page. Lines clashed, blurred, criss-crossed, and skipped over each other. I could almost understand the picture now.

And then I saw it.

Wanderer sketched in two more crucial lines before the picture exploded. I'm telling you, this was no ordinary notebook doodle I was looking at. This was freaking magic. You'd really have to look at this sketch to appreciate it.

It was a city. A massive city. But it wasn't exactly... normal. It was no New York City. It was like something out of a _Star Wars_ movie. The architecture seemed to cheat your eyes into making impossible shapes. Skyscrapers twisted high into the air, one more exotic and complex than the last. Windows glinted and winked in the sun, reflecting a dazzling spectrum of colors everywhere. Roads left the ground, and continued their journey straight up into the sky. Everything seemed to glow in the drawing. I swear, If Heaven was a city, this is what it would look like.

I let out a low whistle and grinned without taking my eyes of the page. "Damn, that's some kick-ass architecture."

There was no response.

Worried I had offended her, I looked up. And there she was, starting at me, chin propped up on her palm. She seemed to have abandoned all concentration on her drawing and altered her focus to me and my uncanny ability to sticky my nose in other people's business. A ghost of a smile was pulling at the corners of her lips, and there was this gleam in her eyes. I swear my heart stopped for a few seconds. I hadn't realized she was so close.

"It is, isn't it?" She gave me a heart pounding smile.

I was paralyzed. It was almost too much. Her hair, her eyes, her smile, even her smell... oh, god, she smelled _amazing_. Like tropical fruit. Or starbursts. Maybe skittles. You know that amazing fruity smell that hits you when you walk into Jamba Juice? Yeah, well, that's what Wanderer smelled like. Except a million times better.

"Ian?"

"Wha - oh. Uh... oh... yeah. Amazing." Luckily, I had pulled myself out of my trance just in time to respond with one of my usual witty comments.

Wanderer was smirking at me.

I tried to distract myself from her glowing face by focusing reluctantly on the picture.

"Where did you learn to draw like this?" I asked.

She shrugged.

"Oh, c'mon!" I moaned. "Give me something to work with here."

Wanderer laughed. "I don't know. I've just... always been a drawer. I don't know where I got it from."

"Well its _fantastic_," I murmured.

She blushed and I winked, which made her blush even harder.

But I was still curious. "Well, what is it? It's a city... obviously... but where did you get the image? You had to have something to draw off from."

I saw something shift in her expression. "It doesn't really matter." In a lower tone she muttered,"It's all gone now."

"Excuse me?"

She didn't seem to be talking to anyone in particular. "The city. All gone."

I looked at her closely now. Was she okay?

"Wanderer? Seriously, what's wrong?"

She seemed to snap out of her haze, and finally realize I was there. "Oh... what? Oh. Sorry. It's nothing. Well... nothing important. At least, not anymore." And then she added under her breath in such a low tone I couldn't even be sure I heard right, "Because I blew up the whole freaking city."

I wasn't sure how to respond to this sudden change in Wanderer's attitude. "Um..."

I felt a tap on my shoulder.

Whipping around I saw Dr. Ricks looking at me with an unreadable expression. "Mr. O'Shea. Miss. Evermore. This is not a time for social chit chat. I have given the class ten minutes to study for the quiz with their partners. You two have already wasted five of those precious minutes. I suggest that you two save the conversation for another time, and start using your remaining five minutes in a more productive manner." With that, he strode off down the aisle with purpose, his footsteps shaking the ground.

Wanderer and I exchanged a look. She sighed and put her chin in her hands, elbows resting on the table.

I gave a dramatic sigh and mimicked her, exaggerating her actions.

The corners of her mouth twitched. "You're shameless aren't you?"

I grinned. "Yes I am. I really really am."

She rolled her eyes. "So what do you think is going to be on this 'quiz'?"

"Well, obviously, the entire eighth grade. So some physics and chemistry," I pondered.

"And yet you are providing us with information we already know."

"Oh, shut up, Wan. If you're so insightful, why don't _you_ tell me what's going to be on this 'quiz'."

Wanderer had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. "There was a whole semester of chemistry."

I was a little frustrated. "We already know that!" I could tell that Wanderer was implying something heavily in those words, but I couldn't figure out what it was. I could see that she was dying to blurt it out.

"The periodic table!" she all but screeched.

I wanted to shoot myself for being so stupid. "Oh _yeah_! Crap, I forgot about that."

She sighed. "Well, at least _I _know the periodic table."

That stopped me short. I could feel the outline of an evil grin spreading up my face. "Oh. You _do,_ now, do you?"

She smirked. "Uh hu."

"I seriously doubt that."

"Wanna bet, O'Shea?"

"How much?"

"Twenty bucks."

"You're on, Evermore."

Wanderer threw her glossy mane of hair back and laughed. "You are _dead_ meat."

**Later That Afternoon (Ian's POV)**

"Hmm, let's see here. I don't know if I... wait... ahh... _yes..._ here it is...I FOUND IT!" I called down the hall.

Wanderer sprinted into my room, her hair a beautiful windswept mess, and practically collided into me.

"Where?" she asked breathlessly, her stormy sea green eyes darting in a restless circle around the room. They landed on the sheet of laminated construction paper in my hands. Her left hand flashed forward and whisked the paper away from my fingers.

"Hey-" I started, but she wasn't paying attention. Wanderer had already darted out of the room in a whirl of silky black hair and a fruity shampoo. I chased after her.

We walked down the hall of my enormous apartment, headed toward the living room where the rest of our friends had congregated for the afternoon. Today was the day that Ange and I were going to tell everyone what was going on. However, Wanderer and I had more pressing matters on our minds at the moment. Like figuring out if we got the test questions on the periodic table right.

Wanderer was muttering to herself, listing off the elements under her breath. "Hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium, boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, neon, sodium, magnesium, aluminum...oh_ no! _I forgot the atomic number for silicon was 14! Crap. I thought it was fifteen."

I grinned. "Current score: Ian - one; Wanderer: _zero_. You can go ahead and give me my twenty bucks now."

Her eyes flashed with amusement. "Hold on a second, buddy. The deal was whoever gets a higher score on the chemistry portion of the test wins the twenty bucks. And if I _recall _correctly_, you _said that you couldn't remember which period hafnium _or_ niobium belonged to. So I believe that the refined score board should read Wanderer: two; Ian: _one_. So _there_." By now we had joined everyone else in the living room, where they we talking about something that seemed trivial compared to the war going on between me and Wanderer.

"You two are _both _total nerds," Melanie muttered from where she lay stomach down on the 2 inch thick carpet, remote in one hand, flipping through the channels aimlessly.

Wanderer stuck her tongue out at her.

Mel snorted. "Smart-ass."

"So... not that this isn't a _fascinating _discussion," Heath yawned," but when are you two gonna give us the scope on the whole Ian-almost-bleeding-to-death-yesterday-afternoon fiasco?"

I exchanged a glance with Evangeline, who was curled up on one of the big, squishy, leather recliner chairs. She had an atlas propped open on her lap and was fingering through the pages with a sour expression. Jared had made the mistake of asking where our parents were doing business _this_ time, so Ange had to fish out an atlas and try to remember their location. I flashed another slightly annoyed glance at Jared who gave an apologetic grimace.

Parents were a touchy subject in our household.

Giving an irritated sigh, Ange slammed the atlas shut with a flick of her long, pale fingers. "I'm sorry, Jared, but I don't _know_ where they are. I can't even remember what _continent_ they're on. The last time they called was five weeks ago, and I don't have their number, so I can't really pick up the phone and ask them, now, can I? And as for _you_ _guys-_," Ange had leapt up and was giving each person in turn and icy glare," fine! _Fine_, okay? Fine. We'll tell you. Happy now? We're _finally_ going to tell you. So, everyone, just sit _down_ for a sec while I go put this atlas away!"

Evangeline swept off down the hall to the study room, which was just a fancy word for where we kept the office supplies and textbooks.

Mel mad a motion to get up.

"What are you doing?" I asked as she stood and stretched. "Ange will be back in just a few seconds."

Melanie gave me a lazy smile. "Well, we're obviously about to see some major drama, so I'm going to go make popcorn." She yawned. "You _do_ have popcorn, right?"

"It's in the pantry," I muttered.

"Great," she grinned. "Hey you-" she tapped Jared's shoulder on her way out of the room, "-come and help me."

Jared looked really thrilled the he was the 'chosen one' that got to go help Mel make popcorn.

"Sucker," I chuckled under my breath as he followed Melanie out of the living room.

"Look who's talking," he shot right back at me. No one else noticed, but I saw him shoot a meaningful look in Wanderer's direction, where she was chatting with Wes about dogs or something. Then Jared winked at me and said, "Good luck, man."

The expression on my face must have been one of pure horror, because Jared looked back over his shoulder, gave an evil grin, and mouthed _Ange told me_. He was then out of that room faster than you could say "popcorn". Smart move.

_Evangeline_. Oh, man. Oh, I swear to the _gods_ that I was going to _kill_ that woman. What the hell were the point of sisters if they couldn't keep a secret? That girl was dead meat. I'm going to murder her as soon as a reasonable opportunity presents itself.

I sighed, giving up on my contemplation of the subject. Now Ange and Jared both knew about my infatuation. Who else knew? I wondered if Ange told anyone else. It's not like I _wanted_ to be in love with Wanderer. It's not like I chose this. It just sort of... happened. As a matter of fact, I'd rather not be in love with her at all, because this whole situation was seriously stressing me out.

Feeling slightly deflated, I went to sit on the couch next to Lily, which looking back on it, probably wasn't the smartest choice to make. The couch was getting pretty crowded with Heath, Wes, Wanderer, Lily, and now me sitting on it, which made me to sit next to Lily just a _little_ bit closer than two average friends might be sitting. This caused Lily to blush, which resulted in a dirty look from Wes. I threw my hands up in mock surrender and rolled my eyes at him. Wes quirked a smile before he resumed his conversation with Wanderer. I immediately felt a spark of jealously somewhere behind my abdomen, making my stomach churn. _I_ wanted to be the one talking to her, having a conversation, making her smile, and getting the thrill of making her laugh. I shook my head and tried to push away my feelings.

When did life get so complicated? Lily and Wes. Jared and Melanie. Ricks' load of homework was insane. Big-mouthed Ange. Eddie's creepy calls during the middle of the night. My "_Wanderer_" problem. What the hell happened to having a normal life? We were freshmen for crying out loud. We were _fourteen_. Sure, seniors have these sorts of issues, maybe juniors and the occasional sophomore, but _freshmen?_ No, I'm sorry, but something was wrong with this picture.

Evangeline had finally returned by now, and had flopped back in her chair. She noticed me looking her way, and she gave me a warm, sisterly smile.

Bitch.

I raised my eyebrows and pointed at her. Then I drew my index finger across my throat. Yup. She was _dead_ meat.

She looked shocked and hurt. _What'd I do?_ she mouthed.

No one was paying attention to us, so just as Jared and Melanie bounded back into the room, I discreetly pointed to Jared, and then I flicked my hand in Wanderer's direction, like I was waving off a fly. Age - smart little evil mastermind she was - understood.

She grimaced. _Sorry. _

I rolled my eyes.

"Okaaaay," Mel said enthusiastically, sinking down to the floor besides Jared, "we're here, we've got popcorn, now give us the dirt! How did Ian get his thing-a-majig all screwed up?" She reached over and whacked me on the calf to make a point. This hurt like hell, causing me to leap up and scream one or two well chosen swear words at Mel - making all everyone else crack up - and went off to sit in one of the old wooden chairs on the other side of the room. I noticed that the only one not laughing was Wanderer, who was giving Melanie a reproachful glare. I don't know why that made me feel better, but it did.

Ange sighed and looked at me. "You start."

"Well," I started, leaning forward with my elbows on my knees and running my hands through my hair in a frustrated sort of way, "I went to see Eddie Friday night."

Already people had left up and a sudden chatter had exploded.

Lily was mad, "Why they _hell_ would you-"

Wes was confused. "But he doesn't want you _back_, does he-"

Jared. "I can't _believe_ he would just show his face _now_-"

Heath finished for him. "Especially after how it went down _last_ time."

Mel didn't say anything but she looked really upset, all of her enthusiasm gone. Ange sat rubbing her temples, sighing, and shaking her head.

Wanderer didn't say anything. She didn't look confused or overwhelmed. She sat cross legged on the couch, looking at Melanie with a worried expression, twirling a lock of hair around her finger in a nervous habit.

"Well, then what next?" Lily asked looking at me, hands on hips, slightly angry, yet expectant.

Ange interrupted. "Wait. Wanderer. She doesn't know..." She flashed a glance in the new girl's direction.

Melanie cut it. "I told her."

"Oh, _did_ you, now?" I asked with sharp shards of ice in my voice. Melanie looked uncertain.

Wanderer winced, and Mel turned defensive, "Well, I just thought-"

I cut her off. "No. No, I'm sorry. It doesn't matter if Wanderer knows. If she's sticking around, best she knows what sort of twisted mess she's getting herself into." I didn't realize how bitter my voice sounded until the words were out, and unable to take back.

Heath, Jared, Wes, and Lily weren't interested in the specifics involved with admitting a new member to our club, they just wanted to know what happened next.

I sighed. It was going to be a long afternoon.

**Later That Evening (Ian's POV)**

I ended up giving them the revised version I had given Evangeline: I had taken a taxi out to the country - to Eddie's big 'institute' -, talked to him, listened to his conspiracy theories, told him to go to hell, got a freaking knife chucked at me, _almost_ got locked up - but escaped -, ran for my life with a security squad after me, passed out in the middle of nowhere, and woke up in the back of Kyle's van with him speeding - as usual - and Ange freaking out over me, fussing with the blood on my calf.

I was in the kitchen with Jared. We were just cleaning up after everyone had gone. Everyone was out of the house, Melanie and Wanderer having just left a seconds ago. Ange had declared a headache - she actually hadn't looked to good - and gone to bed. As much as people had wanted to stay - there have been known to be mass campouts in our living room with this crowd - the glaring aspects of homework and parents and buzzing cell phones could not be ignored. After all the questions had been silenced - Lily, Wes, and Heath still weren't pleased with my answers - we had all shut up and watched some sort of documentary on sea life. Despite what Melanie had said, the truth was we were _all_ science geeks. We were obsessed with the discovery channel. So we sat around, watched various documentaries, ordered a pizza, and talked about anything and everything except Eddie. Finally people had packed up an gone home. Now it was just Jared and I, which we had finished cleaning up and had gone back to the living room and crashed on the couch. Kyle was probably staying over at Jodi's apartment tonight.

"I asked her, you know," Jared spoke up suddenly. He was sitting in the leather arm chair, head back, eyes closed.

I looked up from where I had collapsed on the couch. I had turned on the T.V. and was running through the channels. There weren't any nature shows on Discovery or PBS. Dang.

"What?" I asked.

Jared opened his eyes and gave me a look. "I asked Ange... about the whole... Wanderer... thing. She didn't tell me. I bombarded her until she cracked." He gave me a small smile. "I don't think she would fare well under torture. It didn't take long to get her to tell me what was up."

I was still confused."But... but... how? I mean... how did you figure it out? Is it that _obvious_?"

Jared shook his head. "Nah. You do a good job of hiding it. I just knew something was up because... well... I know you. So I went to Ange, figuring she would know. And I cracked it out of her." He gave me one of his evil grins.

I laughed. "I have to say I'm a little relieved." I ran my hand through my hair and grimaced. "Guess I have to apologize to Ange tomorrow."

Jared laughed. "Good luck with _that_, bro."

**This chap is dedicated to those AWESOME people who reviewed last chap: ladaane, jediahsokaroxx, alwaysreading25, SillyPizza, Angela, CherryBlip, Wadjett, 4-eva-bookworm, Sojungeee, Sofie, and rozaveRnB. These people are BEYOND awesome. I mean it. So there. You guys get muffins. :D**

**So... what do you guys think? This chap was a little more normal. Please review. Please? They make me happier than a bird with a french fry! **

**Have a fantabulous day. Host rocks my socks. :)**


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